impunity

noun

im·​pu·​ni·​ty im-ˈpyü-nə-tē 

: exemption or freedom from punishment, harm, or loss

laws were flouted with impunity

Did you know?

Impunity (like the words pain, penal, and punish) traces to the Latin noun poena, meaning "punishment." The Latin word, in turn, came from Greek poinē, meaning "payment" or "penalty." People acting with impunity have prompted use of the word since the 1500s. An illustrative example from 1660 penned by Englishman Roger Coke reads: "This unlimited power of doing anything with impunity, will only beget a confidence in kings of doing what they [desire]." While royals may act with impunity more easily than others, the word impunity can be applied to the lowliest of beings as well as the loftiest: "The local hollies seem to have lots of berries this year.… A single one won't harm you, but eating a handful would surely make you pretty sick, and might kill you. Birds such as robins, mockingbirds, and cedar waxwings eat them with impunity." (Karl Anderson, The Gloucester County Times, 22 Dec. 2002).

Synonyms

• exemption
• immunity

Examples of impunity in a Sentence

she mistakenly believed that she could insult people with impunity

Recent Examples on the Web

Lawmakers on the now-defunct panel, which included members of both parties, maintain that Trump’s threat to prosecute them aligns him with some of the world’s most notorious criminal dictators, who break laws with impunity and punish anyone who seeks to hold them to account. —Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 10 Dec. 2024

No officer of the law may set that law at defiance with impunity. —Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 4 Dec. 2024

For the liberal-voting public who make up much of the audience for the prestige media, Trump’s impunity to negative stories might seem like a journalism problem. —Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2024

Mistaking forbearance for weakness, NATO spokespersons have scoffed, contending that since previous provocations elicited no nuclear reaction, the West can cross any and all Russian red lines with impunity. —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 25 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French or Latin; Middle French impunité, from Latin impunitat-, impunitas, from impune without punishment, from in- + poena punishment — more at pain entry 1

First Known Use

1532, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

impunity

noun

im·​pu·​ni·​ty im-ˈpyü-nət-ē 

: freedom from punishment, harm, or loss