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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

Much is made about just how much Washington disliked sitting; he knew about Greek mythology and the fate that would befall any man who became absorbed in his own image.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

Should any ill befall Joffrey, the Lannister claim to the Iron Throne would rest on Tommen's young shoulders.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

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

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

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

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

Better to know beforehand what I will pay and what I will get and avoid the disaster that befell my friends.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026

She will be desperate to avoid the disaster that befell hot men's favourite Ilia Malinin, who suffered a nightmare last week, slumping to an eighth-place finish.

From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026

It was not until spring that those at Point Comfort found out about the horror that befell James Town that winter.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

“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

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

From Barron's ● Dec. 17, 2025

In her essay, Schlossberg acknowledged that her terminal illness adds to a string of tragedies that has befallen the famous political family.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 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

A black minister in Waterloo, Mississippi, explained his outrage at the fate that has befallen African Americans in the post-civil rights era.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

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

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

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

From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander


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