befall
Example Sentences
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The biggest pre-World Cup worry for England was how they would cope should any misfortune befall captain Kane.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
"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
How has she dealt with the fallow periods that befall every actor?
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025
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
As a son of the South, Thomas Byrdsong knew all too well the consequences that might befall a black man who openly expressed his anger in front of white people.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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The cynic in me knows that, as surely as no Gutenberg protégé engraved this stationery, the happy accident of the extras befalls every customer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Carthage’s deeper tragedy lies in the subsequent erasure of its history, language and culture, not in its physical destruction, which befalls all empires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
Of course, the Epstein case itself is no longer “real,” but a plot device to keep viewers tuning in to see what befalls the protagonist, in the manner of someone being voted off the island.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2025
“All human life is sacred, so it’s not proper to laugh when serious harm befalls someone,” wrote one Bluesky user.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
"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
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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
As we near the end we get to a full account of the game itself, enlivened by quotes the players gave after the fact, and followed by chronicles of what befell the participants after 1933.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
This vast array of media professionals came no closer to uncovering what awful fate befell this poor 84-year-old woman.
From Slate ● Feb. 23, 2026
For this, and folly, a bad end befell them.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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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
A spate of fires and disasters has befallen the city's historic architecture over the years, raising questions about whether these are freak accidents or a symptom of wider issues.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
That's the fate that has befallen SchwuZ, whose director Katja Jaeger says is "the oldest and biggest queer club in Germany", if not Europe.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2025
‘What sickness has befallen the river? Many fair things Saruman has destroyed: has he devoured the springs of Isen too?’
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
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She imagined something terrible befalling her, and her parents discovering her mounting credit-card bills.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
If we speak about 1929 perhaps we believe we will avoid a similar fate befalling us.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2025
The precedents I have in mind rose and fell on elements of “human nature” that also drive what’s befalling us now.
From Salon ● Feb. 17, 2025
That defeat would have paled when set beside the one that looked like befalling Scotland now.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2024
“Do not speak of ill befalling you,” Taran cried.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
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Vocabulary lists containing befall
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
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ACT Vocabulary List
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