Because of VS. For

[sky3120]

I feel like 'because of' and 'for' as a meaning of cause and reason can be interchangeable like 'because' and 'for' but I know that there are collocations. What do native English speakers think about my feeling? Thank you as usual and have a good day.


Cf. 1. I cried for / because of my lost cat.

2.We could hardly see it for /because of the mist.

3. He didn't answer for / because of fear of hurting her.

 

[Chicken Sandwich]

NOT A TEACHER

I can't speak for native speakers, but I don't think that "for" and "because of" can be used interchangeably. On the other hand, "for" and "because" are synonyms according to Longman:

for 2 conjunction formal
used to introduce the reason for something SYN because : I cannot tell whether she is old or young, for I have never seen her.
He found it increasingly difficult to read, for his eyesight was beginning to fail.