befall
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
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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
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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
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“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
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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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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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