mild or merciful in disposition or character; lenient; compassionate.
A clement judge reduced his sentence.
(of the weather) mild or temperate; pleasant.
merciful
(of the weather) mild
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English either from Old French or directly from Latin clēment-, stem of clēmēns “gentle, merciful”
Clement weather is lovely and mild. You might describe a beautiful, warm summer evening as clement. Clement can describe a pleasant climate — "The thing about Hawaii is it's such a clement place, always." — or even a merciful, gentle person. It's much more common to hear the antonym of clement, inclement, describing terrible weather. Clement first appeared in the 13th century as a surname, or last name, from the Latin clementem, "mild or placid," and was used to describe nice weather by the 17th century.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"DEAR CLEMENT, "We have the telegram, a relief to the poor lad's mind, but he has not spoken much since.
From The Long Vacation by Yonge, Charlotte Mary
"CLEMENT CODDLER, M. A., "Chaplain and late tutor to his Grace the Duke of Buckminster.
From Burlesques by Thackeray, William Makepeace
"The Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard, "CLEMENT THOMAS.
From Paris under the Commune The Seventy-Three Days of the Second Siege; with Numerous Illustrations, Sketches Taken on the Spot, and Portraits (from the Original Photographs) by Leighton, John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
