Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Showing results for befall. Search instead for befalli.
Definitions

befall

[bih-fawl] / bɪˈfɔl /


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.

See Examples For:

"We wake up wondering what new disaster is going to befall Auroville," its French-language magazine declared in December.

From Barron's Jun. 25, 2026

But woe befall any bad guys who mistake him for a fool.

From Los Angeles Times May 28, 2026

It is also another sign of what is surely England and Tuchel's biggest fear – how can they cope should misfortune befall all-time record goalscorer Kane?

From BBC May 22, 2026

With head-scratching lyrics like, “Why should a land have so much meaning when dark times befall it? It’s just a land made of dirt and rock,” they confuse far more than they entertain.

From Salon Nov. 21, 2025

He walked slowly and asked himself ruefully what new misfortune could possibly befall him a moment before the mad hermit in the woods leaped out at him without warning from behind a mulberry bush.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Granted, I wouldn’t say that nobody cares about what Jackson did or Rowling is committed to doing, whether that harm befalls a few people or impacts entire populations.

From Salon May 14, 2026

Money is a form of the “resource curse” that befalls many producers of oil and other vital commodities.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 21, 2025

A magnetic field around any of these structures would form a continuous tangent vector field, and at this point we know what befalls such hairy constructions.

From Scientific American Aug. 18, 2023

After tragedy befalls his friend and his ex-wife, Bob can’t help but feel it was deserved.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 3, 2023

"Take my betrothed back to the castle, and see that no harm befalls her," the prince told him brusquely.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

No other harm befell him or my little brother.

From Salon Jul. 3, 2026

A similar fate befell What's Wrong With Me – a duet with her musical hero, The Cure's Robert Smith.

From BBC Jun. 10, 2026

There are allusions to the tragedies that befell him: the loss of a young daughter to measles encephalitis and his son’s near-fatal accident.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 24, 2026

Because, for veterans of modern warfare, the question isn’t how to come to grips with something that befell us in the manner of a natural disaster.

From Slate Mar. 16, 2026

Then Medon, the perceptive man, replied: “A god moved him—who knows?—or his own heart sent him to learn, at Pylos, if his father roams the wide world still, or what befell him.”

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

Rodríguez, who could use the crisis to strengthen her hold on power, has highlighted the successes of the response while acknowledging the grave catastrophe that had befallen her country.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 26, 2026

In baseball, curses are no joking matter, and the Curse of the FTD Burger might now have befallen the team.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 26, 2026

"This is a devastating tragedy that has befallen the Reiner family," he said.

From Barron's Dec. 17, 2025

All the plans, in their own very different ways, hope to salvage something out of the calamity that has befallen Gaza over the past two years.

From BBC Sep. 21, 2025

There were no harvests of any kind that year and everywhere people starved and were hungry and were angry at what had befallen them yet again.

From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck

The comeback ended in a match tie-break defeat by Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk and her American partner Peyton Stearns, with the same fate befalling them in New York.

From BBC Sep. 5, 2026

White House reporters, meanwhile, are preparing for the day — perhaps a day when they serve as pool reporter — when they get the call about a calamity befalling the president.

From Salon Jun. 26, 2026

She imagined something terrible befalling her, and her parents discovering her mounting credit-card bills.

From The Wall Street Journal May 29, 2026

As he did in other speeches, Leo did not shy away from discussing the ills befalling Lebanon.

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 2, 2025

“Do not speak of ill befalling you,” Taran cried.

From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander




Vocabulary lists containing befall


Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training