befall
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to happen or occur.
- Synonyms:
- chance, materialize, betide, ensue, bechance
-
Archaic. to come, as by right.
verb (used with object)
verb
-
(intr) to take place; come to pass
-
(tr) to happen to
-
to be due, as by right
Etymology
Origin of befall
before 900; Middle English befallen, Old English befeallan. See be-, fall (v.)
Explanation
Befall is an old-fashioned or literary way of saying something happened by chance. Bad luck befalls a heroine who drops her lucky rabbit foot. When something befalls you, it’s like bad luck falling on you. An earthquake can befall a city. A terrible disease could befall a child. A bolt of lightning could befall a very unlucky person. When something befalls you, you’re in trouble. Tragedies befall families in many of Shakespeare’s plays — that’s what makes them so much fun.
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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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.
His hearty love, not his unhappy case, Befall to such as triumph in your grace.
From A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 7 by Various
But that one deed of charity I'll do, Befall what may; they cannot take that from me.
From The Complete Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow by Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth
Befall herself what might, she held against her heart a power which was the utmost limit of that heart's desire.
From Demos by Gissing, George
I heard Men say his temper's in an awful state; Therefore beware lest some untoward fate Befall you; and—I do not think I'll wait.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, August 8, 1917 by Various
And on the other:— Give liberalye To neidfvl folke Denye nane of Them al for litle Thow knawest heir In this lyfe of what Chaunce may the Befall.
From Kate Carnegie and Those Ministers by Maclaren, Ian
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
