Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adv. By necessity; by force of circumstance.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- By force or violence; of necessity.
- To force; constrain; compel.
Wiktionary
- adv. archaic By force.
- adv. Necessarily.
- v. obsolete To force; to compel.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adv. By force; of necessary; at any rate.
- v. obsolete To force; to compel.
WordNet 3.0
- adv. by necessity; by force of circumstance
Etymologies
- From Middle English par force, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French par force ("by force") (Wiktionary)
- Middle English par force, from Old French : par, by (from Latin per; see per) + force, force; see force. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Hence, the mere presence of Nato troops – extending the writ of the central government - perforce, is an achievement in itself.”
“In the days when you had to stoke the coal stove and scrub the washing, class differences were perforce more pronounced.”
Electric Liberation, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty
“For food I gathered a few vegetables from farms on the fringe of the forest, which, perforce, I had to eat raw and after ten days on this diet found that I was able to eat only enough to keep me going.”
“** Obscure in the sense that no one read it the first time, perforce the second.”
“They are more like children to him, even the hunters, and as children he treats them, descending perforce to their level and playing with them as a man plays with puppies.”
“The water still poured in, and perforce we doubled up in the cockpit and tossed it out again.”
“Had the Factor gone but one step farther, perforce Snettishane would himself have mentioned the name of Lit-lit, but -- the Factor had not gone that one step farther.”
“By sunset this exchange of boats was made, and we said good-by to our Greek, who perforce had to go into Benicia and be locked up for his own violation of the law.”
“He who loves one must perforce love all the world and all the unborn worlds.”
“His quick-changing facial expressions might tell every thought and mood, but the tongue, perforce, ran hard after, repeating, like a second Boswell.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘perforce’.
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Iaan
dirigisme, dystopia, cacotopia, ex ante, veritable, indefatigable, curmudgeon, desultory, antediluvian, transmogrify, pendent, elongate and 268 more...
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EN - archaic words
abide, abjure, abroad, adamant, afield, aforetime, aghast, anon, apace, argent, assuage, aught and 328 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2042 more...
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Uncommon and Interesting words
That come in handy, but might make you look like a douchebag.
prurient, lithe, superannuated, wanderlust, sanguine, florid, slugabed, candor, eldritch, superbowl syndrome, indolent, perforce and 37 more...
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Favorite Words
pablum, maundy, histrionic, adamant, ascribe, verbiage, insouciant, erudite, gregarious, superfluous, banal, obdurate and 280 more...
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catinthehat345's List
compere, reticle, colophon, miasma, eldritch, raconteur, plectrum, poltroon, vestibular, pastiche, cravat, acumen and 179 more...
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All The Words
I enjoy collecting words, for I have no fear of them ever running out.
tatterdemalion, panopticon, idioglossia, hypnagogue, hypnopomp, defenestration, anacoluthon, scofflaw, affront, edifying, palimpsest, naufrage and 475 more...
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Dictionary.com Words of the Days of 1999
1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008
emolument, palindrome, deprecate, bivouac, umbrage, incipient, dapple, pugnacious, capitulate, susurrus, thaumaturgy, capacious and 229 more...
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Good Words
fenestering, cetic, immanent, quickening, archetypal, shibboleth, soma, wetware, heritable, Apotheosis, halcyon, cellar door and 482 more...
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Personal Vocabulary List
All my favourite words that I come across!
veritable, incongruence, rigamorole, letcherous, revolting, repulsive, reputrid, rapatious, forays, guise, placate, paradigm and 1162 more...
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new words!
errata, corrigenda, lacuna, inculcate, chiaroscuro, temerity, folderol, juggernaut, diadem, alacrity, exegesis, portmanteau and 97 more...
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Quaintnesses
For those who wish no words were ever forgotten
opprobrium, tedium, encomium, odium, ire, enmity, beguile, wile, brazen, popinjay, squit, hoity-toity and 1161 more...
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slumry's Words
cattywampus, ingratiate, lackadaisical, exactitude, exfoliate, fulminate, circumnavigation, circuitous, debride, sidle, sequester, chicory and 1002 more...
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tree's Words
aphasia, anhedonia, promontory, misandry, amanuensis, asymptote, penultimate, muslin, tundra, calico, kinaesthesia, rutabaga and 209 more...
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caspermilktoast's Words
frenetic, farrago, fandango, ensemble, assay, emulsion, taut, winnow, ridonkulous, ginormous, frisson, idee fixe and 181 more...
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enjoidooks's Words
rastafari, facetious, desultory, dubiously, ineluctable, incarnadine, diapason, alembic, empathy, feckless, transcendence, thus and 190 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for perforce.

chained_bear Richard of Gloucester: You must have patience, gentle Clarence.
George of Clarence: (holding up his handcuffed hands) I must, perforce. Nov 5, 2008
dontcry Ah... so close! I should have done my reasearch! Ha! Nov 5, 2008
sionnach "To sleep, perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub" Nov 5, 2008
dontcry "To sleep, perforce to dream." Nov 5, 2008
elgiad007 How does one use this word? It seems so odd and doesn't easily roll off the tongue.
Is the following correct: "Regrettably and with much hesitance, the source control tool was perforce replaced with Team Foundation Server." Nov 5, 2008
elgiad007 This is also the name of my preferred source control tool, Perforce. Nov 5, 2008