befell
Definition
- Verb (past tense of ):
- To happen or occur to someone, especially something bad or unfortunate: "befell" describes an event, often negative, that happened to a person or group.
- To come to pass: used in a more formal or literary sense to indicate that something took place.
Usage Examples
- (A serious disaster happened to the village.)
- (Whatever happens to us, we will confront it.)
- (The sad event that occurred to the family was covered in the news.)
Advanced Usage
- "It befell him to...": a formal construction meaning "it happened to him that..."
- It befell him to inherit the estate after his uncle's death. (It was his fate to receive the property.)
Variants and Related Words
- Befall (verb, base form): to happen to someone, usually something unpleasant.
- A similar fate may befall anyone who is careless. (A similar bad outcome may happen to anyone.)
- Befallen (verb, past participle): having happened to someone.
- The disaster that had befallen the city was catastrophic. (The event that had occurred to the city was disastrous.)
Synonyms
- Occur to: to happen to someone.
- Happen to: to take place affecting someone.
- Come upon: to happen to someone unexpectedly (often literary).
Related Idioms
- What has befallen you?: a formal or literary way to ask "What has happened to you?"
- Tell me, what has befallen you in these dark times? (Explain what trouble has occurred to you.)