clement

clement — adjective

1. If the weather is clement, it is mild and pleasant, without extreme heat, cold,

1.形容詞B2
釋義

If the weather is clement, it is mild and pleasant, without extreme heat, cold, rain, or strong wind.

例句

After weeks of heavy rain, a clement weekend finally allowed the park to reopen.

collocation: clement weekend

Aiko planted her vegetable garden during the unusually clement autumn season.

clement + season collocation

同義詞
  • mild

    the common everyday alternative; less formal and far more frequent

  • pleasant

    focuses on the enjoyable effect of the weather rather than its lack of severity

  • temperate

    more technical, often used for climate zones rather than daily weather

反義詞
  • inclement

    the direct antonym — harsh, stormy, or severe weather

文法句型

clement + noun (weather, climate, winter, morning)

be + clement

用法筆記

Primarily a formal or literary adjective; in everyday conversation, speakers prefer 'mild' or 'pleasant' to describe agreeable weather.

常見錯誤

❌We had a clement day at the beach.
✅We had a mild day at the beach.
💡'Clement' sounds overly formal in casual speech; use 'mild' or 'pleasant' instead.

2. A clement person, action, or decision treats someone who has done wrong with kin

2.形容詞B2
釋義

A clement person, action, or decision treats someone who has done wrong with kindness and does not punish them as harshly as they could.

例句

The judge was clement and sentenced the young man to community service instead of prison.

clement + legal context

Hana's boss was clement about the missed report because of the family emergency.

同義詞
  • lenient

    the standard everyday word for showing flexible or relaxed discipline

  • merciful

    emphasises compassion and forgiveness, especially when severe punishment was possible

  • forgiving

    focuses on letting go of resentment rather than reducing a penalty

反義詞
  • harsh

    imposing severe or strict punishment

  • severe

    unsparing in judgment or penalty

文法句型

be + clement + towards/to + someone

clement + noun (judge, sentence, decision, response)

用法筆記

Formal and relatively rare in modern English; 'lenient' is far more common for authority figures showing flexibility, while 'merciful' is used when forgiveness is shown to someone who could have been punished severely.

常見錯誤

❌The teacher was clement with the noisy class.
✅The teacher was lenient with the noisy class.
💡'Clement' in the merciful sense is rarely used in modern English; 'lenient' is the natural choice.