to befall
33
7.8
- verb
- /bɪˈfɔl/
- Formal
:
suceder a
- Whatever misfortune may befall you, I will always stand by your side.
- fate befalls someone
- disaster befalls people
- calamity befalls people
So Nietzsche dubs the nihilistic catastrophe about to befall Europe the second Buddhism.
- So Nietzsche dubs the nihilistic catastrophe about to befall Europe the second Buddhism.
- How did you get past all this trauma that that had befallen you in your life?
- And you imagine the pains that are likely to befall you.
- Cataloging the cruelty that befell him.
- We learn about this strange curse that has befallen a lot of children, and we try to solve it.
- So fun, so full of life, so funny, and so unaware of the fate that would soon befall them.
- It also matters because the justification that he didn't know who he was notwithstanding, this isn't a problem that seems to befall other people.
- And there are certain things that you might regard as bad things befalling you, bad decisions, things where you could have made a more optimum decision.
- And you know, after that big speech, now all eyes on Adam if something should befall you.
Examples
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Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here.
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We learn about this strange curse that has befallen a lot of children, and we try to solve it.
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If anything should befall them, I shall come for you.
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A great tragedy will befall you.
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In short, Kennedy was lucky that such a fate did not befall him.
Academic text (2014) -
How did such a fate befall the world's most diverse forest?
Academic text (2011) -
There shall no evil befall you, or any plagues come near you.
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Whatever befalls you, I'll deal with.
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It is likely that some troubles will befall us, but it is not a present fact.
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The greatest social disaster ever to befall a free society did not weaken families, but urban migration did.
Academic text (2002)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To take place, often by chance and without planning
2
9.9
To happen to someone, often in a bad way, used in old or literary language
To happen to someone by accident
Antonyms
How Serious
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Befall is made of be- and fall, so imagine trouble 'falling on' someone. That's why to befall means for something, often bad, to 'happen to' someone.