perforce

adverb

per·​force pər-ˈfȯrs 

1

: by force of circumstances or of necessity

These images are perforce in black and white because there is no color at x-ray wavelengths.

—Smithsonian

All our perceptions of China are perforce limited, partial, biased by our cultural and political perspectives.

—Marilyn B. Young

With no new novel in the offing, Harry addicts will perforce focus their anticipation during the coming year on the film version of the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone …

—Paul Gray

2

obsolete : by physical coercion

… he rushed into my house and took perforce my ring away.

—William Shakespeare

Did you know?

English speakers borrowed par force from Anglo-French in the 14th century. Par meant "by" (from Latin per) and the Anglo-French word force had the same meaning as its English equivalent, which was already in use by then. At first, perforce meant quite literally "by physical coercion." That meaning is no longer used today, but it was still prevalent in William Shakespeare's lifetime (1564-1616). "He rush'd into my house and took perforce my ring away," wrote the Bard in The Comedy of Errors. The "by force of circumstances" sense of perforce had also come into use by Shakespeare's day. In Henry IV, Part 2, we find "... your health; the which, if you give o'er to stormy passion, must perforce decay."

Synonyms

• ineluctably
• inescapably
• inevitably
• ipso facto
• necessarily
• needs
• unavoidably

Examples of perforce in a Sentence

we must, perforce, deal with this issue immediately, as procrastination is not an option

Recent Examples on the Web

Harder, because both were (or still are, in Bissinger’s case) received in the world as heterosexual, successful, wealthy white men—an armor whose cracking is perforce traumatic, shameful, and almost always hidden. —Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2019

Someone who loses his career is perforce no longer in an alliance with the employer. —Lidija Haas, The New Republic, 1 July 2019

Take the Best Revival of a Musical category, which this year will perforce be a showdown between Cole Porter’s Kiss Me Kate and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! —Adam Green, Vogue, 30 Apr. 2019

The search zone is the creation of the ATSB, and is perforce somewhat arbitrary. —Bucky McMahon, Esquire, 14 Sep. 2015

What might be called the Falstaff question—is this man a harmless buffoon, or a dangerous threat to the world order?—has, perforce, become a national preoccupation. —Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 2 May 2016

This man is perforce a tyrant, and the people cease to owe him allegiance. —Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 31 July 2014

Word History

Etymology

Middle English par force, from Anglo-French, by force

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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Kids Definition

perforce

adverb

per·​force pər-ˈfō(ə)rs 

-ˈfȯ(ə)rs

: by force of circumstances or of necessity