befall
verb (used without object)
to happen or occur.
was befalling
-
past progressiveof befall.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
After the Atlanta speech he was in almost daily contact with what was befalling his people in all parts of the country and to some extent all over the world.
From Booker T. Washington Builder of a Civilization by Emmett J. (Emmett Jay) Scott
A fear pervaded her that in all that had befallen, in all that was befalling still—what ever it might be—some evil was at work, and an evil that had Crispin for its scope.
From The Tavern Knight by Rafael Sabatini
All that was befalling him this day seemed to be the consequence of his animal existence, which had led him nowhere except to burrow in the ground.
From More Tales by Polish Authors by Various
Had not Frederica Coppinger, resting in her club in Dublin, after a severe afternoon with her dentist, some intuition, some spirit-warning, of what was befalling at the home of her ancestors?
From Mount Music by Martin Ross
This was the fate which was befalling our race at home and abroad as the year 1847 closed.
From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 17 by Charles F. (Charles Francis) Horne
