was construing
- past progressive of construe.
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.
"You must remember you are translating poetry," said a conscientious master to a boy who was construing Virgil.
From Joyous Gard by Benson, Arthur Christopher
Construe and translate.—In my school-days, verbal rendering from Latin or Greek into English was construing; the same on paper was translating.
From Notes and Queries, Number 32, June 8, 1850 by Various
Scarcely out of his long clothes, he was construing Herodotus and the dialogues of Plato, and the whole of his dreary youth was spent in covering the vast field of the moral and mathematical sciences.
From Fabre, Poet of Science by Miall, Bernard
We had seen little of him the last week; save when he was construing he had taken refuge in his own room.
From Frivolous Cupid by Hope, Anthony
His nails were bitten to the quick, for while some trembling boy was construing he would sit at his desk shaking with the fury that consumed him, and gnaw his fingers.
From Of Human Bondage by Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset)
