MEANING
To happen to someone, especially when the event is unfortunate or unexpected.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- misfortune befalls someone
- a disaster befell
- whatever may befall
On the page
No one could explain the misfortune that had befallen the previous owners.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- befall
- Past tense
- befell
- Past participle
- befallen
- Present participle
- befalling
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- befall
- Present continuous
- am/is/are befalling
- Present perfect
- have/has befallen
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been befalling
- Past
- befell
- Past continuous
- was/were befalling
- Past perfect
- had befallen
- Past perfect continuous
- had been befalling
- Future
- will befall
- Future continuous
- will be befalling
- Future perfect
- will have befallen
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been befalling
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated prose. Lexical Type: Word. Forms: befall; befalls; befell; befallen; befalling Commonness: moderately common (editorial estimate; not a corpus frequency statistic). Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1; numbered fields keep each relevant meaning separate. Research distinction: MW verifies occur/happen to and irregular befell/befallen; event is subject, affected person object. Writing functions: precise action, characterization. Third-person singular: befalls.
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