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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

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

The biggest pre-World Cup worry for England was how they would cope should any misfortune befall captain Kane.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 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

Yet what harm could befall them at Swanburne?

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

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

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

Of course, the Epstein case itself is no longer “real,” but a plot device to keep viewers tuning in to see what befalls the protagonist, in the manner of someone being voted off the island.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 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

That is precisely the situation that befell Cisco Systems in 2001.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 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

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

The issue also befell the German team who won bronze in the biathlon.

From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026

And all the ages up until the Seeing were as long as the ages will be after the Seeing, which befell in the Center of Time.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

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

“This is a devastating tragedy that has befallen the 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

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

What did he know of the tragedy that had befallen them?

From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty

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

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

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

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

From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander




Vocabulary lists containing befall


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