perforce

American  

[per-fawrs, -fohrs] / pərˈfɔrs, -ˈfoʊrs /

adverb

1. of necessity; necessarily; by force of circumstance.

   The story must perforce be true.

---

perforce British  

/ pəˈfɔːs /

adverb

1. by necessity; unavoidably

---

Etymology

Origin of perforce

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

Explanation

The adverb perforce means "necessarily" or "inevitably." As wonderful and warm as summer is, it must perforce come to an end. Read enough poetry and you'll perforce come across the word perforce sooner or later. It's mainly used in literary or formal contexts, so you can choose to use it if you want to sound fancy: "Our disagreement over what to have for dinner will perforce end in our ordering a pizza." Perforce comes from the Old French par force, "by force."

Example Sentences

But such moments aren’t perforce life-altering, and the partners and faculty members weren’t actually wielding the authority of a deity.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

Even people’s pets were bought up, or perforce left behind.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 31, 2025

Methane is a carbon-based molecule, so many of the ingredients for life are perforce there.

From Scientific American • Jul. 6, 2023

What David Doniger, a climate expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, calls a “one-two punch of irrefutable science and irrefutable experience” has clearly raised public awareness and, perforce, the political temperature.

From New York Times • Dec. 7, 2019

Mr. Wickham’s happiness and her own were perforce delayed a little longer, and Mr. Collins’s proposal accepted with as good a grace as she could.

From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen