assert
verb (used with object)
to state with assurance, confidence, or force; state strongly or positively; affirm; aver.
were asserting
-
past progressiveof assert.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.
By the time the Hyksos were asserting their control over parts of the Nile delta, Egypt was already well into what historians of the nineteenth century dubbed the Second Intermediate Period.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
They were defending evolutionary science and secular values, but as much as anything they were asserting their right to attack the beliefs of others, regardless of how cherished those might be.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 26, 2018
The reason they paraded yesterday through my neighborhood with their flags and signs wasn’t just because they were asserting power.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2017
Davis wrote that the fascination with female rule came at a time when men were asserting new claims over women’s bodies and their property.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 18, 2016
And then, by one of those strange ironies the solution came to me, came to me too just as mere selfish considerations were asserting themselves.
From Hurricane Island by H. B. Marriott (Henry Brereton Marriott) Watson
