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
Marc J. Dunkelman, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025
No one—not the chiefs, not the officers, not the ordinary citizen—should feel empowered to behave with impunity.
—Marc J. Dunkelman, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025
But more mundane episodes of impunity were born of the same dynamic.
—Marc J. Dunkelman, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025
That aura of complete and total impunity surrounding the executive branch is the only possible explanation for the confirmation of wild-eyed conspiracy theorist Kash Patel as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
—Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impunity
Cite this Entry
“Impunity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impunity. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
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impunity
noun
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