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
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
The prosecutors described a pyramid of murder and impunity with Duterte at the apex, police and civilian officials in the middle, and low-level policemen, police assets, and hit men at the bottom.
—Sheila Coronel, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
Now drone swarms attack across borders with impunity.
—Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2026
The 12-day war on Iran in June last year, successfully prosecuted by Israel and the US, suggested that it could be attacked with relative impunity.
—The Week Uk, TheWeek, 8 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for impunity
Cite this Entry
“Impunity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impunity. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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impunity
noun
