How to Use befall in a Sentence

befall

verb
Definition of befallnext
Synonyms for befallnext
  • It's sad to think of the unhappy fate that befell him.
  • The drought was only one of many hardships to befall the small country.
  • But the storm is only the latest misery to befall the town.
    — Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 13 Sep. 2023
  • Some experts fear this is a dark omen of a fate that could befall Kyiv.
    — Stephen Collinson, CNN, 21 Mar. 2022
  • The worry now is that the same fate will befall Ukraine once these Games conclude.
    — Kurt Streeter, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2022
  • Alley had captured the full scope of what had befallen the Panay and those aboard it.
    — Brad Lendon, CNN, 26 May 2023
  • And yet, that’s exactly the fate the plant doesn’t want to befall its progeny.
    — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2022
  • To be a parent is to live in a state of love and terror, knowing all that could befall your children.
    — Kelley Manley, Marie Claire, 23 Aug. 2021
  • The band looked remarkably recovered after the fates that befall some of them in the film.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 17 Feb. 2022
  • What sanctions will befall those who color outside the lines of their grants?
    — Jan Hoffman, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2023
  • That fate befell Coos Bay over a decade ago, when Howard worked there as the city’s finance director.
    — oregonlive, 24 Apr. 2023
  • The flash flood is the latest in a long line of unfortunate events to befall the music legend.
    — Phil Boucher, PEOPLE.com, 13 July 2021
  • None of those seem to be his fault, merely circumstances that can befall us all.
    — Mark Deeks, Forbes, 18 July 2022
  • Someone notes the rare silence that has befallen the kitchen — this gumbo is good.
    — Danielle Dorsey, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
  • For Moscow, the havoc befalling the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh marks a loss of prestige.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 28 Sep. 2023
  • However, The Nun 2 suffers from a dilemma befalling many a midquel: It’s boxed in by canon.
    — Vulture, 8 Sep. 2023
  • Lam’s was just one of many eye-raising deaths to befall the Cecil Hotel since its opening in 1927.
    — Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2021
  • Stop the embarrassment that has befallen the people in his district in the state of New York.
    — Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023
  • Anyone who meets her, it is said, will befall a similar and swift fate.
    — Bree Sposato, Travel + Leisure, 28 Apr. 2023
  • None of that mattered much Sunday, when Harvey got most of his contact in the air and didn’t have any bad luck befall him.
    — Jon Meoli, baltimoresun.com, 18 July 2021
  • And pray for the other 2,000 NFL players that a similar fate doesn’t befall them.
    — Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Jan. 2023
  • Would that such an epicurean fate could befall the Asian carp, dreams Parola.
    — Eve Conant, Travel, 30 Dec. 2020
  • After all of the hardship to befall the Bryant family, the case of who killed Tramaris Bryant has never been solved.
    — Arkansas Online, 14 Oct. 2021
  • People worry about what might befall them overnight, and more long-term what a cold winter might bring.
    — Howard Lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Aug. 2022
  • The thought of never seeing her daughter again prompted more tears and fears that the worst had befallen her girl.
    — James Longman, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2023
  • One common trope of the disaster film is the moment when people in the film see the terrible thing about to befall them.
    — Kate Knibbs, Wired, 25 Dec. 2020
  • Consider the film’s most unflinching scene, when Mamie, in spite of the harm that could befall her, decides to take the witness stand.
    — Robert Daniels, Time, 14 Oct. 2022
  • Anybody stopping by Shirk’s blue pup tent will get a story that, but for the fates, could befall any parent.
    — Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Feb. 2022
  • Some worried that the same fate that befell Batgirl and Coyote vs Acme awaited Salem’s.
    — Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2024
  • Even younger teens will recognize the sadness that will likely befall them in their lives.
    — Billboard Staff, Billboard, 20 Jan. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'befall.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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