impunity
noun
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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."
Examples of impunity in a Sentence
Time, 8 Aug. 2025
Our system of courts cannot long endure if disappointed litigants defy court orders with impunity rather than legally challenge them.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 8 Aug. 2025
Any resource, such as social security funds and foreign direct investment, proceeds from mineral and energy extraction, military procurement expenditures, and development aid, may be diverted with impunity.
—Michael Johnston, Foreign Affairs, 6 Aug. 2025
The leaders of Massachusetts government, overwhelmingly Democrat, need to stop spending your money with impunity.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 3 Aug. 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 19 Aug. 2025.
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impunity
noun
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