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1. Cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
   "fell a tree";
   - drop, strike down, cut down
    
2. Pass away rapidly
   - fly, vanish
    
3. Sew a seam by folding the edges

1. The dressed skin of an animal (especially a large animal)
   - hide
    
2. Seam made by turning under or folding together and stitching the seamed materials to avoid rough edges
   - felled seam
    
3. The act of felling something (as a tree)
    
4. [UK] High moorland or unforested hill

1. (of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
   - barbarous, brutal, cruel, roughshod, savage, vicious

1. Descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
   "The branch fell from the tree"; "The unfortunate hiker fell into a crevasse"
    
2. Move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
   "The barometer is falling"; "The curtain fell on the diva"; "Her hand went up and then fell again";
   - descend, go down, come down, sink
    
3. Pass suddenly and passively into a state of body or mind
   "fall into a trap"; "She fell ill"; "They fell out of favour"; "Fall in love"; "fall asleep"; "fall prey to an imposter"; "fall into a strange way of thinking"; "she fell to pieces after she lost her work"
    
4. Come under, be classified or included
   "fall into a category";
   - come
    
5. (of rain, snow, etc.) landing after falling from the clouds
   "rain, snow and sleet were falling";
   - precipitate, come down
    
6. Suffer defeat, failure, or ruin
   "We must stand or fall"; "fall by the wayside"
    
7. Die, as in battle or in a hunt
   "Many soldiers fell at Verdun"; "The shooting victim fell dead"
    
8. Touch or seem as if touching visually or audibly
   "Light fell on her face";
   - shine, strike
    
9. Be captured
   "The cities fell to the enemy"
    
10. Occur at a specified time or place
    "Christmas falls on a Monday this year"; "The accent falls on the first syllable"
     
11. Become smaller or less in size, extent, or range
    "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper";
    - decrease, diminish, lessen
     
12. Yield to temptation or sin
    "Adam and Eve fell"
     
13. Lose office or power
    "The government fell overnight"; "The Qing Dynasty fell with Sun Yat-sen"
     
14. To be given by assignment or distribution
    "The most difficult task fell on the youngest member of the team"; "The onus fell on us"; "The pressure to succeed fell on the youngest student"
     
15. Move in a specified direction
    "The line of men fall forward"
     
16. Be due
    "payments fall on the 1st of the month"
     
17. Lose one's chastity
     
18. To be given by right or inheritance
    "The estate fell to the oldest daughter"
     
19. Come into the possession of
    "The house fell to the oldest son";
    - accrue
     
20. Be allotted to somebody by assignment or as part of their role
    "The task fell to me"; "It fell to me to notify the parents of the victims";
    - light
     
21. Be inherited by
    "The estate fell to my sister";
    - return, pass, devolve
     
22. Slope downward
    "The hills around here fall towards the ocean"
     
23. Lose an upright position suddenly
    "The vase fell over and the water spilled onto the table"; "Her hair fell across her forehead";
    - fall down
     
24. Drop oneself to a lower or less erect position
    "She fell back in her chair"; "He fell to his knees"
     
25. Fall or flow in a certain way
    "This dress falls well";
    - hang, flow
     
26. Assume a disappointed or sad expression
    "Her face fell when she heard that she would be laid off"; "his crest fell"
     
27. Be cast down
    "his eyes fell"
     
28. Come out; issue
    "silly phrases fell from her mouth"
     
29. Be born, used chiefly of lambs
    "The lambs fell in the afternoon"
     
30. Begin vigorously
    "The prisoners fell to work right away"
     
31. Go as if by falling
    "Grief fell from our hearts"
     
32. Come as if by falling
    "Night fell"; "Silence fell";
    - descend, settle

Derived forms: felled, fells, felling

See also: break, come apart, come to nothing, crumble, dawdle, drop away, drop off, fall apart, fall away, fall back, fall behind, fall flat, fall for, fall through, flop, founder, go to the wall [informal], inhumane, lag, recede, separate, slip, split up

Type of: animal skin, be, be born, begin, buy the farm [N. Amer, informal], cash in [informal], cash in one's chips [informal], change, change hands, change magnitude, change owners, change posture, change state, choke, come, come about, come forth, come out, commence, conk [informal], cop it [Brit, informal], croak [informal], cut, decease [archaic], die, disappear, drop dead, egress, elapse, emerge, exit, expire, fail, fall out, flatline [informal], get, get down, give-up the ghost [informal], glide by, go, go along, go away, go by, go forth, go on, go wrong, hap [archaic], happen, incline, issue, kick the bucket [informal], kill, killing, lapse, leave office, locomote, miscarry, move, occur, pass, pass away, pass off, perish, pitch, pop off [informal], pop one's clogs [informal], putting to death, quit, resign, run up, seam, set about, set out, sew, sew together, sin, slide by, slip away, slip by, slope, snuff it [informal], start, start out, step down, stitch, stitch up, take place, transgress, travel, trespass, turn, vanish, yield

Antonym: ascend

Encyclopedia: Fell, Patrick