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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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It is the latest in a litany of disasters to befall one of the most benighted industrial cities in Europe, repeatedly blanketed in lethal smoke from similar blazes.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025

Jo's brother Jimmy said he "never imagined such a profound tragedy would ever befall our family".

From BBC ● Nov. 25, 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

Then, in a slightly strained tone: “Should I be worried that a similar sort of accident may befall me?”

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

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

The witches are thus active instruments in the fate that befalls Macbeth, making him somewhat more of a puppet of their otherworldly mischief than a closer reading of the text might bear out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2025

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

No other harm befell him or my little brother.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 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

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

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

So it befell that by false cunning and pretended tears those were conquered whom great Diomedes had never overcome, nor savage Achilles, nor ten years of warfare, nor a thousand ships.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

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

From Salon ● May 1, 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

“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

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

After all that had befallen her, the shame of betraying those who made possible her escape.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

White House reporters, meanwhile, are preparing for the day — perhaps a day when they serve as pool reporter — when they get the call about a calamity befalling the president.

From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026

It doesn’t help that a rainstorm of biblical proportions is befalling Chicago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2025

That defeat would have paled when set beside the one that looked like befalling Scotland now.

From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2024

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

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi


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