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
That fate can befall even major acts, particularly those from Latin America.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2026
That worry is the massive drop-off in proven quality at international level should any misfortune befall England captain and record goalscorer Harry Kane.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026
Sanctions didn’t make life easier, he says, but they didn’t befall Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
“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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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
The Jeffrey 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
Playing Beth’s mother, Grace, she volunteers to direct their small town’s famed Christmas pageant after an incident befalls the longtime director.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2024
"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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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
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
That fate befell African pygmies and many other hunter-gatherer populations displaced by farmers.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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Rodríguez, who could use the crisis to strengthen her hold on power, has highlighted the successes of the response while acknowledging the grave catastrophe that had befallen her country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
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 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
Her father was about to have a heart attack, and my memories of her now are tinged with a blue wash of misfortune that hadn’t quite befallen her at the time.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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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
The statement is hollow so long as people still can stake their dollars on the calamities befalling everyday Angelenos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 10, 2025
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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