impunity

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Contents

English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Latin impunitas, from impunis without punishment.

Pronunciation [edit]

  • IPA: /ɪmˈpjuːnɪti/

Noun [edit]

impunity (countable and uncountable; plural impunities)

  1. (countable, law) Exemption from punishment.
  2. (uncountable) Freedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
    • 1846, Edgar Allen Poe, The Cask of Amontillado:
      I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is undressed when retribution overtakes its redresser.
    • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, p. 495:
      The remoteness of the prison made the authorities feel they could ignore us with impunity.

Translations [edit]