Word of the Day
: July 12, 2025impunity
playWhat It Means
Impunity, usually used in the phrase "with impunity," refers to exemption or freedom from punishment, harm, or loss.
// They mistakenly believe that they can break the camp's rules with impunity.
impunity in Context
"For his part, [artist Adam] Leveille doesn't expect to see his painting again. ... Still, he feels compelled to speak out publicly about what happened and has asked on his Instagram account and on Reddit for anyone with information about the heist, or who might have seen his painting appear somewhere, to come forward. If anything, he just wants to let potential area art thieves know they can't steal from local artists with impunity." — Spencer Buell, The Boston Globe, 1 Feb. 2025
Did You Know?
Impunity, like the words pain, penal, and punish, traces to the Latin noun poena, meaning "punishment." Poena, in turn, came from the Greek poinē, meaning "payment" or "penalty." Impunity has been around since the 1500s; in 1660, Englishman Roger Coke wrote "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 beings great and small. Take, for example, this 2023 quote from the Sidmouth Herald in England: "The [yew tree] fruits are readily eaten by birds but they do not digest the seeds as they are poisonous. Only one bird, the rare and shy Hawfinch, is able to eat the seeds with impunity."
Test Your Vocabulary with M-W Quizzes
Word Family Quiz
What 4-letter verb beginning with "p" is a descendant of Latin poena, meaning "punishment," and can mean "to yearn intensely"?
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