impunity
Americannoun
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exemption from punishment.
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immunity from detrimental effects, as of an action.
noun
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exemption or immunity from punishment or recrimination
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exemption or immunity from unpleasant consequences
a successful career marked by impunity from early mistakes
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with no unpleasant consequences
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with no care or heed for such consequences
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Synonym Usage
See exemption.
Etymology
Origin of impunity
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French impunite or Latin impūnitāt-, stem of impūnitās, derivative of impūnis “without punishment, unpunished” (from the adverb impūne), equivalent to im- im- 2 + -pūne, combining form of poena “penalty, pain” + -itās -ity
Explanation
If doing something usually results in punishment, but you do it with impunity, you will not be punished for the deed. Students are not allowed to chew gum in school, but teachers do it with impunity. Not fair! The noun, impunity, comes from the Latin roots im- ("not") plus poena ("punishment"), a root which has also produced the word pain. Impunity, then, is the freedom from punishment or pain. If someone has committed a punishable offense but does not have to fear punishment, he or she does it "with impunity." Cybercriminals operate with impunity in some countries.
Vocabulary lists containing impunity
"The Cask Of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe
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"The Cask of Amontillado"
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The Scarlet Letter
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In October the nongovernmental organization Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity reported that a Mexican subsidiary of the state-owned oil company, Pemex, sent $3 billion of crude to Cuba between May and August.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026
I was looking at CPJ’s Global Impunity Index, which states that about 80 percent of journalist killings go unpunished.
From Slate • Aug. 28, 2025
In 2020, it ranked ninth on the Committee to Protect Journalists’ annual Global Impunity Index, which assesses countries where journalists are regularly harassed and killed and the assailants usually go free.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2023
Until 2019, a widely praised United Nations-sponsored anticorruption investigatory body, the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, which was founded in 2006, had remarkable success fighting organized crime and corruption.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 17, 2023
This is why so many people fall into this evil; for, says an ancient writer: "Impunity is a dainty allurement to sin."
From The Spirit of St. Francis de Sales by Camus, Jean Pierre
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
