Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Yet when Levine first stared at her in 2020, he had no idea who had painted her or who the woman even was.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
I saw “Grangeville” last year in New York and wondered if Hunter had painted himself into a corner, dramaturgically speaking, in prolifically turning out plays that can seem like claustrophobic scene studies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
It is widely believed that Yeats had painted himself and his wife prominently within the crowd.
From New York Times ● May 2, 2024
Pour some paint into the pan, and roll it around as if you had painted a room.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 22, 2024
The spacious room was far from the prisonlike image his aunt Virginia had painted for him.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
