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Justyna Jupowicz-Kozak

CEO of Professional Science Editing for Scientists @ prosciediting.com

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perforce

Grammar usage guide and real-world examples

USAGE SUMMARY

"perforce" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it to indicate that something is inevitable or necessary due to circumstances. Example: "He had to, perforce, accept the terms of the agreement." Alternative expressions include "necessarily" and "inevitably."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Encyclopedias

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

WITH many of his friends and family getting on in years, Babbage has had perforce the chance to compare how the elderly are cared for professionally in America, Britain and Japan.

News & Media

The Economist

Prepare-and-measure looks good in theory because an eavesdropper (Eve) listening in will perforce give herself away by measuring the light's polarisation, and thus disrupting the system.

News & Media

The Economist

During recharging, electrons are forced round the circuit in the opposite direction, and the ions, perforce, return whence they came.Many materials can be used as positive ions in batteries, but lithium has become popular in recent years because it is light and, weight for weight, lithium batteries thus store more energy than any other kind.

News & Media

The Economist

The Conservatives are now, perforce, an English party.

News & Media

The Economist

And in the past few months Mr Noboa's reform efforts have started to bump up against some familiar obstacles.If dollarisation is to work, the government must make big policy sacrifices: it has perforce to renounce exchange-rate and monetary policy and, since it can no longer use inflation to balance its books, it must also be strict in fiscal policy.

News & Media

The Economist

Not surprisingly, this makes him exceptionally hard to live with, though his tough but magnificent wife and loving band of sons seem to have coped admirably.As for Solzhenitsyn the artist, Mr Thomas makes well the point that the Russian's most powerful creations are drawn closely from his own life; and that when his own life perforce became serene, his creative juices flowed much less freely.

News & Media

The Economist

That means the army will perforce be largely protected from the immediate savings the government is looking for increasing pressure on the other services.Yet the fact that Britain has recently been involved in two troop-heavy counter-insurgency campaigns does not mean that all or even most future conflicts will be similar.

News & Media

The Economist

Now, perforce, the splurge is over and tougher times require choices that New Labour hoped, and for a long time managed, to avoid.

News & Media

The Economist

Much of it was not against communism as such, and thus perforce for capitalism, but against communism as it came to pass.

News & Media

The Economist

To adapt the prime minister's own schema, he finds himself defending the most basic rights of Libyans, namely freedom from brutal repression and the right to self-determination, with bombs dropped from 40,000 feet.So is Mr Cameron perforce adopting Mr Blair's doctrine of liberal interventionism?

News & Media

The Economist

Deny it them and it will, perforce, wither away—an approach that worked for the smallpox virus, which had a similarly picky appetite.

News & Media

The Economist
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Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "perforce" to indicate that something is inevitable or required due to circumstances, especially when emphasizing a sense of logical consequence or external force.

Common error

Avoid confusing "perforce" with similar-sounding words like "perhaps" or "performance". "Perforce" specifically implies necessity, whereas "perhaps" suggests possibility, and "performance" refers to an act or event.

Antonio Rotolo, PhD - Digital Humanist | Computational Linguist | CEO @Ludwig.guru

Antonio Rotolo, PhD

Digital Humanist | Computational Linguist | CEO @Ludwig.guru

Source & Trust

83%

Authority and reliability

4.6/5

Expert rating

Real-world application tested

Linguistic Context

Perforce functions primarily as an adverb, modifying verbs or clauses to indicate that an action or state is inevitable or compelled by circumstances. As evidenced by Ludwig, this often implies a sense of necessity or obligation arising from a given situation.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

47%

Encyclopedias

27%

Science

14%

Less common in

Formal & Business

7%

Academia

5%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "perforce" is an adverb indicating inevitability or necessity, often due to circumstances. Ludwig AI confirms it's grammatically sound and suggests alternatives like "necessarily" or "inevitably". It's most common in news, encyclopedias, and science, reflecting a neutral register. Use it to emphasize lack of choice, but avoid confusing it with similar-sounding words like "perhaps". Ludwig provides ample examples of proper usage, underscoring its relevance in formal and semi-formal contexts.

FAQs

How can I use "perforce" in a sentence?

"Perforce" is typically used as an adverb to indicate that something is inevitable or necessary. For example: "He had to, perforce, accept the terms of the agreement."

What are some alternatives to using "perforce"?

You can use alternatives like "necessarily", "inevitably", or "by necessity" depending on the context.

Is it more appropriate to use "perforce" or "necessarily" in formal writing?

Both "perforce" and "necessarily" are suitable for formal writing. "Perforce" carries a slightly stronger sense of compulsion or inevitability, while "necessarily" emphasizes logical consequence.

What is the origin of the word "perforce"?

"Perforce" comes from Middle English and combines "per" (by) and "force", indicating "by force" or "by necessity".

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Source & Trust

83%

Authority and reliability

4.6/5

Expert rating

Real-world application tested

Most frequent sentences: