wield
verb (used with object)
to exercise (power, authority, influence, etc.), as in ruling or dominating.
had been wielding
-
past perfect progressiveof wield.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.
He was trying to convince career prosecutors that they had been wielding their enormous power wrongly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2022
He said he had been wielding the brush for six hours straight.
From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2011
It was apparent last week that the pledge was soon to come due, despite the determination with which the 82-year-old Generalissimo clung to the absolute power he had been wielding for nearly four decades.
From Time Magazine Archive
Her black gown was of some thin material, and just as the two little girls ran up on to the piazza, she dropped the large, black fan that she had been wielding.
From Dorothy Dainty at the Mountains by Amy Brooks
Kennedy had been wielding the spade vigorously for a few minutes when it touched something metallic.
From The War Terror by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve
