perforce
/pəˈfɔːs/
"perforce" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“perforce” is uncommon English (frequency #90,830 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #90,830
- frequency rank, English
- 4,417
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - By constraint of circumstances; of necessity; as a matter of course.
Corpus desk
Index EN-perforce · perforce · English
perforce · rank #90,830 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #90,830
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,417
- PHOTO-FINISH peroxidation
Nearest frequency peer: peroxidation (+1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “perforce”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Passy
Passy
9,177 corpus weight
- pawning
pawning
9,175 corpus weight
- perforce
perforce
9,171 corpus weight
- peroxidation
peroxidation
9,170 corpus weight
- petersham
petersham
9,169 corpus weight
- pharmacothe…
pharmacotherapy
9,166 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “perforce” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | perforce |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /pəˈfɔːs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #90,830 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “perforce” in English
Rare enough to double-check
perforce is uncommon English at frequency #90,830 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anadverb, transcribed /pəˈfɔːs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for perforce, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English par force, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French par force (“by force”). The correct English form is perforce, spelled P-E-R-F-O-R-C-E.
Definition
- 1By constraint of circumstances; of necessity; as a matter of course.
- 2By force.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how perforce appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
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..
"Keep fast thy hold, for by such stairs as these," The Master said, panting as one fatigued, "Must we perforce depart from so much evil."
Etymology
From Middle English par force, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French par force (“by force”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "perforce", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).