Lurked

A thief lurked in the dark doorway.

Pervasive and pernicious deviations from both fact and logical validity lurked behind a meretricious plausibility.

They lurked and lingered for a long time, but survived in little things; for, Nature, far above the evil passions of men, soon recovered Her serenity, and smiled upon the guilty battle-ground as she had done before, when it was innocent.

Once more / a limber sapling from the soil I tore; / once more, persisting, I resolved in mind / with inmost search the causes to explore / and probe the mystery that lurked behind; / dark drops of blood once more come trickling from the rind.

The king explained to the being, that only through many years and many mistakes was he able to master such a test. The king faced such adversity his entire life and was underestimated in many a strife. See that is the king's most valuable weapon and allowed the element of surprise and such violence of action to defeat the vile creatures that lurked and hid like cowards.

The hunter lurked behind a hedge with his shotgun at the ready.

Dmitri lurked behind the trees to frighten the girls.

Fifteen to 20 percent of hospital rooms were cleaned using the UV robots. Anderson said the devices were used in rooms where it was suspected that superbugs lurked. These rooms included intensive care units and rooms where patients had been treated for drug-resistant bacterial infections.

I deem myself lucky that in my childhood, there was always some kind of wilderness to explore. In the Philippines, there was the Martianesque red-soil vastness of Don José Heights in Quezon City. In BC, there were the dirt mounds on the unbuilt school grounds of Rideau Park on Lulu Island. Red poppies grew in the brown earth. It was then the debut of the Star Wars franchise; I imagined Jawas might have lurked in the mounds. There were impromptu mountain bike tracks in the mounds.

In the dark alleys of the city, poverty lurked behind tired yet remarkably brave faces.