invent
verb (used with object)
to originate or create as a product of one's own ingenuity, experimentation, or contrivance.
was inventing
-
past progressiveof invent.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
A separate team at Cornell University found that researchers were using AI to compile citations, and that it was inventing bogus research, with around 147,000 pieces of phantom research cited last year.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
When the Roses lost everything, Moira wore wigs to the grocery store, pronounced “bébé” like she was inventing a new language, and, most critically, never compromised her dignity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2026
He claimed that no true “moment of threat” doctrine existed and that the petitioner was inventing a label to distort the 5th Circuit’s reasoning.
From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2025
In so doing, Stevens was inventing power for Chief Seattle to sign away lands he had no authority to cede from fluid groups of Native people.
From Seattle Times ● May 29, 2022
He paced, paused, spoke, and paced behind his palm-leaf altar, giving every impression he was inventing his Biblical parables on the spot.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
