impunity
noun
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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).
Examples of impunity in a Sentence
David Williams, Baltimore Sun, 16 Jan. 2025
But in Mississippi, where the rules are lax, officers use the weapons with impunity.
—Raymond Zhong, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2025
His regime is a criminal enterprise that fuels narco-terrorism, suppresses independent media, and violates human rights with impunity.
—Laura Kelly, The Hill, 10 Jan. 2025
In Wagner’s telling, Bud Dajo also established a template for future American war crimes: gross abuse leading to a cursory investigation, a coverup, impunity, and, finally, erasure.
—Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
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Dictionary Entries Near impunity
Cite this Entry
“Impunity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impunity. Accessed 26 Jan. 2025.
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impunity
noun
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