inclement

[ in-klem-uh nt ]

/ ɪnˈklɛm ənt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR inclement ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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

not kind or merciful.

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Nearby words

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

Examples from the Web for inclemency

They ascended to the battlements, and faced the inclemency of the weather.
Trevethlan: (Vol 2 of 3)|William Davy Watson
The coronation was put off on account of the ill health of Cardinal Cinzio and the inclemency of the season.
Studies in the Poetry of Italy|Oscar Kuhns
Man alone, of all the animals, possesses no natural covering, but is exposed naked to the inclemency of the elements.
Fables of Infidelity and Facts of Faith|Robert Patterson
It was the 1st of December, 1759, and the air was frosty, but I was fortified against the inclemency of the season.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete|Jacques Casanova de Seingalt

It is singular to observe how little the people of these wild races do to protect themselves from the inclemency of the weather.
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India|R. V. Russell

British Dictionary definitions for inclemency

inclement

/ (ɪnˈklɛmənt) /

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

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].