inclement

[in-klem-uh nt]

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adjective

(of the weather, the elements, etc.) severe, rough, or harsh; stormy.

not kind or merciful.

Origin of inclement

1615–25; < Latin inclēment-, equivalent to in- in-³ + clēment- (stem of clēmēns) clement

Related formsin·clem·en·cy, in·clem·ent·ness, nounin·clem·ent·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for inclemency

rigor, accuracy, harshness, hardship, ordeal, precision, difficulty, tribulation, firmness, tenacity, vicissitude, austerity, rigidity, snow, chill, strictness, formality, sternness, solemnity, acerbity

Examples from the Web for inclemency

Historical Examples of inclemency

We were in a wigwam, which afforded us but miserable shelter from the inclemency of the season.
The Gypsies
Charles G. Leland
John Mangles bore him company, and endured with him the inclemency of the weather.
In Search of the Castaways
Jules Verne
This gloom, and the inclemency of the weather, added to the young painter's depression.
Caught In The Net
Emile Gaboriau
The post-boys were exposed to all the inclemency of the weather both by day and night.
A Hundred Years by Post
J. Wilson Hyde
What were rain and cold, the inclemency of the elements to them?
The Inside of the Cup, Complete
Winston Churchill

British Dictionary definitions for inclemency

inclement

adjective

(of weather) stormy, severe, or tempestuous

harsh, severe, or merciless

Derived Formsinclemency or inclementness, nouninclemently, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for inclemency

1550s, from Middle French inclémence and directly from Latin inclementia "rigor, harshness, roughness," from inclemens (see inclement).

inclement

adj.

1660s, from French inclément and directly from Latin inclementem (nominative inclemens) "harsh, unmerciful," from in- "not, opposite of, without" (see in- (1)) + clementem "mild, placid." "Limitation to weather is curious" [Weekley].