The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word PERFORCE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
P
E
R
F
O
R
C
E
More clues leading to the result PERFORCE
- Peer half-heartedly supporting church out of necessity
- Inevitably do without mass and church
- Seller sent back bunch of coppers by necessity
- Man barred from execution, inevitably
- … of necessity for each law-keeping organisation
- Unavoidably detained by worshipper for celebration
- By necessity some wallpaper for ceiling
- Chap removed from act by necessity
- Inevitably execution has man getting axed
- “Needs must” according to police?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Inevitably" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case inevitably = perforce.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does PERFORCE mean?
PERFORCE verb- To force; to compel.
- By force.
- Necessarily.