reign
noun
the period during which a sovereign occupies the throne.
had been reigning
-
past perfect progressiveof reign.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She had been reigning sovereign at Briarwood hitherto; henceforth she could only live there on sufferance.
From Vixen, Volume I. by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon
He seemed to have quarreled with Prince Jotham, who had been reigning as king since Uzziah was smitten beyond hope of recovery, though both laughed at the rumor and denied it.
From Stories of the Prophets (Before the Exile) by Isaac Landman
Then, very late, when silence had been reigning so long that it paralysed me, I made an effort.
From The Inferno by Edward J. (Edward Joseph Harrington) O'Brien
Keats took part in what a certain writer has called "the reaction against the barrel-organ style, which had been reigning by a kind of sleepy, divine right for half a century."
From English Literature, Considered as an Interpreter of English History Designed as a Manual of Instruction by Henry Coppee
But there was a rankling in his spirit which overcame the geniality which had been reigning in his heart so short a time before.
From Traffic in Souls A Novel of Crime and Its Cure by Eustace Hale Ball
