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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.

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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

European elections keep rolling around whether anyone wants them or not, and the next will befall the U.K. in early May.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

How has she dealt with the fallow periods that befall every actor?

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025

It was some hundred miles by that way from the Cross-roads to the Morannon, and what might befall them before they came so far none knew.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

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

When a tragedy befalls Elias-Clarke and a new CEO is tapped to take over, it’s not just Miranda who’s in trouble, but Runway and its publisher’s storied legacy, too.

From Salon ● May 6, 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

When a crisis befalls a small circle of closed-minded leaders, they tend to react with strategic and often self-destructive recklessness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 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

Or they would speak about the potato fields of Colorado, and the tragedy that befell them there.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

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

Initially, police had treated it as a tragic accident that had befallen one of Spain's wealthiest individuals.

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

The same fate could’ve easily befallen this movie, too.

From Salon ● May 1, 2026

“This is a devastating tragedy that has befallen the Reiner family. We all recognize that and our hearts go out to the entire Reiner family,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 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

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

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

If we speak about 1929 perhaps we believe we will avoid a similar fate befalling us.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2025

It's possible she actually prevented another tragedy from befalling our family.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi


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