inclemency

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the condition of weather being severe, stormy, or unpleasant

   The inclemency of the weather forced the climbers to remain in the hut.

2. 2
   noun

   harshness, severity, or lack of mercy; formal and rare

   The governor's inclemency toward minor offenders drew public criticism.

A learned borrowing from Latin inclementia, 'harshness, cruelty, bad weather,' from in- ('not') + clementia ('mildness, mercy'). English preserved both the moral sense of merciless severity and the now more familiar application to weather that seems harsh or unforgiving.

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