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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"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
A different sort of disaster may befall Mr. Starmer and Labour in London.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 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
“Your hinterlands are not precious to me. Your person is. Should any ill befall you, this world would lose its savor.”
From "A Dance with Dragons" 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
Here, though, it’s justified because what befalls Ron could happen to anyone, and rooting surreal situations in relatability sparks Robinson’s comedy.
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 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
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
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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
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
The issue also befell the German team who won bronze in the biathlon.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026
In Rachel's mind, every ill that befell her was the work of someone else.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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The same fate could’ve easily befallen this movie, too.
From Salon ● May 1, 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
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
There could be no use, Taran saw, in concealing the reasons for his journey; he explained to Eiddileg what had befallen them.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
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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
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
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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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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ACT Vocabulary List
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