Meaning & use
befall
To happen to someone, especially something unpleasant or unfortunate.
See it in a sentence
No one could have predicted the misfortune that would befall the small fishing village.
She feared some disaster might befall her son during his solo journey abroad.
A note on using this word
Befall is a formal, somewhat literary verb, almost always paired with an unfortunate or ominous event as its subject.
Words with a similar meaning
happen tooccur
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Make it your own
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