befall
Example Sentences
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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
That fate can befall even major acts, particularly those from Latin America.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 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
Jo's brother Jimmy said he "never imagined such a profound tragedy would ever befall our family".
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2025
He walked slowly and asked himself ruefully what new misfortune could possibly befall him a moment before the mad hermit in the woods leaped out at him without warning from behind a mulberry bush.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
When a tragedy befalls Elias-Clarke and a new CEO is tapped to take over, it’s not just Miranda who’s in trouble, but Runway and its publisher’s storied legacy, too.
From Salon ● May 6, 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
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
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
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
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
Hear and attend and listen; for this befell and behappened and became and was, O my Best Beloved, when the Tame animals were wild, she wrote.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
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
That's the fate that has befallen SchwuZ, whose director Katja Jaeger says is "the oldest and biggest queer club in Germany", if not Europe.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2025
She had no wish to explain what had befallen her.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
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
It doesn’t help that a rainstorm of biblical proportions is befalling Chicago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 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
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
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