Befall

/bɪˈfɔːl/ · verb

Meaning

(transitive) To fall upon; fall all over; overtake..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To fall upon; fall all over; overtake.
2. (intransitive) To happen.
3. (transitive) To happen to.
4. (intransitive, obsolete) To fall.
5. Case; instance; circumstance; event; incident; accident.

Example Sentences

At dusk an unusual calm befalls the wetlands.

It befell in the days of Uther Pendragon [...] that there was a mighty duke in Cornwall that held war against him long time.

Temptation befell me.

But as soon as her son espied her, bowl in hand, he thought that haply something untoward had befallen her, but he would not ask of aught until such time as she had set down the bowl, when she acquainted him with that which had occurred[…]

I beseech your grace that I may know / The worst that may befall me.

As we’ve said before, with the exception of communism itself, the euro has been the biggest economic catastrophe to befall the continent (and the world) since the 1930s.

This wasn't the last tragedy to befall Reading. There were fatal accidents involving trains in 1855 and 1914, while on a lesser scale T E Lawrence (of Arabia) lost his precious manuscript of Seven Pillars of Wisdom when changing trains in 1919.

With a thought I tooke for Maudline & a cruse of cockle pottage. with a thing thus tall, skie blesse you all: I befell into this dotage.

Synonyms for befall

Antonyms for befall

Related Words

Word Forms

• befalls
• befalling
• befell
• befallen

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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