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impunity - 4 dictionary results

im⋅pu⋅ni⋅ty

  [im-pyoo-ni-tee]
Use impunity in a Sentence
–noun
1. exemption from punishment.
2. immunity from detrimental effects, as of an action.
Origin:
1525–35; < L impūnitās, equiv. to im- im- 2 + pūnitās punishment (pūn- (s. of punīre to punish ) + -itās -ity ); see punitive

Synonyms:
See exemption.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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im·pu·ni·ty   (ĭm-pyōō'nĭ-tē)   
n.   pl. im·pu·ni·ties
Exemption from punishment, penalty, or harm.

[Latin impūnitās, from impūne, without punishment : in-, not; see in-1 + poena, penalty (from Greek poinē; see kwei-1 in Indo-European roots).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Impunity

Im*pu"ni*ty\, n. [L. impunitas, fr. impunis without punishment; pref. im- not + poena punishment: cf. F. impunit['e]. See Pain.] Exemption or freedom from punishment, harm, or loss.

Heaven, though slow to wrath, Is never with impunity defied. --Cowper.

The impunity and also the recompense. --Holland.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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impunity 
1532, from L. impunitatem (nom. impunitas) "freedom from punishment, omission of punishment," from impunis "unpunished, without punishment," from in- "not" + poena "punishment."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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