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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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For generations, the 103-year-old Catholic parish has been a beacon of solace and resistance for residents angry about the latest indignity to befall the historic heart of Latino Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 8, 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

Sanctions didn’t make life easier, he says, but they didn’t befall Iran.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 6, 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

She happened to be an orphan, and I figured that if this much could befall an orphan, imagine how impressive I would look in such a role.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston

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

Now imagine a great tragedy befalls one province.

From Salon Jan. 16, 2025

Playing Beth’s mother, Grace, she volunteers to direct their small town’s famed Christmas pageant after an incident befalls the longtime director.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 8, 2024

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

"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

Without clear succession planning, Xi also risks the fate that befell Stalin and Mao, whose deaths in office unleashed struggles for power that ended up unraveling their political visions.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 5, 2026

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

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

‘But first, it would ease my heart, Gandalf, to hear what befell you in Moria. Will you not tell us? Can you not stay even to tell your friends how you were delivered?’

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

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

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

In this moment I am overwhelmed by all that has befallen me—and him.

From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads

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

The statement is hollow so long as people still can stake their dollars on the calamities befalling everyday Angelenos.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 10, 2025

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

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi




Vocabulary lists containing befall


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