EN

Synonyms for befall

14 synonyms
4 antonyms
1 meaning

verb

Most common

occur transpire come take place

All synonyms

Verb

1. Occur

occur, transpire, come, take place, eventuate, fall, happen dated, hap formal dated, chance dated, bechance dated

Other

come to pass, overtake, tide, betide formal dated

Antonyms

spare, avoid, escape

All antonyms of befall →

Definitions

v. 1
To fall upon; fall all over; overtake.
At dusk an unusual calm befalls the wetlands.

Related words

Word family: befalling

Forms

Past participle: befallen
e.g. befallen → occurred, transpired, comen, eventuated…

Choose the right word

Befall, Betide, Happen, Befalls, Betides or Happens?

Befall and betide are transitive; happen is intransitive; something befalls or betides a person or happens to him.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

occur There is no telling when an earthquake will occur.
transpire Do you think a fight will transpire after school today?
eventuate The rain forecast for yesterday didn't eventuate.
tide The wind and tide impelled the ship to the shore.
overtake The Prince followed, but could not overtake her.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
befall		rising
occur		steady
transpire		rising
eventuate		falling
tide		steady
overtake		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: hap¹
4 letters: come¹, fall¹, tide¹
5 letters: occur²
6 letters: chance¹, happen², betide²
8 letters: overtake³, bechance
9 letters: transpire³, eventuate

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (occur² = 2 syllables).