Inclement means unpleasantly cold, wet or stormy. Inclement weather, in inclement conditions, if the weather is inclement.
It appears almost only with weather and is the formal word notices use when an event is cancelled. It is the negative of clement, and the mercy sense of the root survives in clemency.
1adjectiveinclementUnpleasantly cold, wet or stormy.
“Due to inclement weather, the outdoor concert has been moved indoors.”
inclement is a quality.
In- is not, and the rest is Latin for mild, the same mildness in clemency. Inclement weather is anything but mild.
hooks ontoclemency
Latin inclemens means unmerciful, from in- plus clemens, mild.
Latin
inclēmēns — unmerciful, severe
English, today
inclement
Built from
From Latin inclēmēns (“unmerciful, severe”), from in- (“not”) + clēmēns (“mild, placid”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA