impunity
[im-pyoo-ni-tee]
- exemption from punishment.
- immunity from detrimental effects, as of an action.
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Origin of impunity
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comSee exemption.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for impunity
Contemporary Examples
It would inject a threat of accountability into power, and upend the impunity wartime leaders had operated under for years.
Once again he could throw his fastball for strikes with impunity--for six or seven innings at least.
Cameras show the gunmen roaming the mall, shooting and killing with impunity.
It was arrogant,” he says, adding, “If you go along with the status quo in South Carolina, you can break the law with impunity.
For more than a half-century before “Stairway to Heaven,” recording artists had been doing this, usually with impunity.
Historical Examples
They shall find out that they cannot insult me with impunity.
Brave and BoldHoratio Alger
Does he imagine that Olivia is to be slighted with impunity?
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
They intend to show the world and politicians that their views cannot be ignored with impunity.
Mountain MeditationsL. Lind-af-Hageby
But omnipotence says and does with impunity whatever it pleases.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, CompleteDuc de Saint-Simon
He did not wish to retire, and could not have done so with impunity.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, CompleteDuc de Saint-Simon
impunity
- exemption or immunity from punishment or recrimination
- exemption or immunity from unpleasant consequencesa successful career marked by impunity from early mistakes
- with impunity
- with no unpleasant consequences
- with no care or heed for such consequences
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin impūnitās freedom from punishment, from impūnis unpunished, from im- (not) + poena punishment
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for impunity
n.
1530s, from Middle French impunité (14c.) and directly from Latin impunitatem (nominative impunitas) "freedom from punishment, omission of punishment," also "rashness, inconsideration," from impunis "unpunished, without punishment," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + poena "punishment" (see penal).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper