perforce

[per-fawrs, -fohrs]

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adverb

of necessity; necessarily; by force of circumstance: The story must perforce be true.

Origin of perforce

1300–50; per + force; replacing Middle English par force < Middle French

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for perforce

involuntarily, weakly, willy-nilly, abandonedly, dependently, feebly

Examples from the Web for perforce

Contemporary Examples of perforce

That hope also went, perforce, into the deeply compromised political system that Obama would lead.
Progressive-palooza: On Obama, Occupy, and Moral Monday
Jedediah Purdy
July 5, 2014

Historical Examples of perforce

There we were, and there perforce we must remain till we reached our destination.
The Roof of France
Matilda Betham-Edwards
Kirkwood acceded, perforce; and bided his time with what tolerance he could muster.
The Black Bag
Louis Joseph Vance
When he plunged through the doorway, Charlie perforce went right with him.
Flamedown
Horace Brown Fyfe
But his vanity and weakness of character had perforce to triumph!
A Hero of Our Time
M. Y. Lermontov
It is part of my punishment, and you, perforce, must bear witness.
Wanderer of Infinity
Harl Vincent

British Dictionary definitions for perforce

perforce

adverb

by necessity; unavoidably

Word Origin for perforce

C14: from Old French par force; see per, force 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for perforce

adv.

early 14c., par force, from Old French par force (12c.), literally "by force" (see force). With Latin per substituted 17c. for French cognate par.