Meanings
nounimpunity (countable and uncountable, plural impunities)
plural impunities
- countablelawExemption from punishment.
- uncountableFreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
The remoteness of the prison made the authorities feel they could ignore us with impunity.
1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 4955 more examples
Maternus, a private ſoldier, of a daring boldneſs above his ſtation,[…] plundered with impunity the rich and defenceleſs cities of Gaul and Spain.
1776, Edward Gibbon, chapter IV, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, page 91I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser.
1846, Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of AmontilladoThe brewing conflict between locals and the whalers prompted then-sheriff Ari Magnússon to draw up a decree that allowed Basques to be killed with impunity in the district.
2015 April 29, Ashifa Kassam, “Basques safe in Iceland as district repeals decree to kill them on sight”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 28 Aug 2020[...] and the rebuilding of Birmingham New Street with its Taurus Bar ("where one for the road - the railroad - can be taken with impunity").
2021 March 10, Greg Morse, “Telling the railway's story on film”, in RAIL, number 926, pages 44–45If Russia’s President Vladimir Putin could order his troops into his neighbor with impunity, surely China’s President Xi Jinping might finally decide to recover Taiwan, the island province that has remained staunchly independent ever since Mao Zedong’s Red Army finished his conquest of the mainland in 1949.
2022 August 30, Donald Kirk, “Could China invade South Korea after Taiwan?”, in The Hill, archived from the original on 30 Aug 2022
Origin
- Latinimpunitas
- Middle Frenchimpunité
- Englishimpunity
From Middle French impunité, from Latin impunitas, from impunis (“without punishment”).
More words from Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἄδεια, ἄδεια
- ἄδεια (ádeia)exemption from punishment
- ἄδεια (ádeia)freedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Bulgarian безнаказаност
- безнаказаност (beznakazanost)freedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Catalan impunitat, impunitat
- impunitatexemption from punishment
- impunitatfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Chinese Mandarin 不受懲罰性 /不受惩罚性, 免罰 /免罚
- 不受懲罰性 /不受惩罚性 (bú shòu chéngfá xìng)exemption from punishment
- 免罰 /免罚 (miǎnfá)exemption from punishment
- 免於罪責 /免于罪责 (miǎn yú zuìzé)exemption from punishment
- 免於責罰 /免于责罚 (miǎn yú zéfá)exemption from punishment
- 免於懲罰 /免于惩罚 (miǎn yú chéngfá)exemption from punishment
- 免於懲戒 /免于惩戒 (miǎn yú chéngjiè)exemption from punishment
- 免於懲處 /免于惩处 (miǎn yú chéngchǔ)exemption from punishment
- 免於懲治 /免于惩治 (miǎn yú chéngzhì)exemption from punishment
- 有罪不罰 /有罪不罚 (yǒuzuìbùfá)freedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
- 有罪不訴 /有罪不诉 (yǒuzuìbùsù)freedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
- 有責不究 /有责不究 (yǒuzébùjiū)freedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Czech beztrestnost
- beztrestnostfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Danish straffrihed
- straffrihedfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Dutch straffeloosheid
- straffeloosheidfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Finnish koskemattomuus, rankaisemattomuus
- koskemattomuusexemption from punishment
- rankaisemattomuusfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
French impunité, impunité
- impunitéexemption from punishment
- impunitéfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
German Straflosigkeit, Straffreiheit
- Straflosigkeitexemption from punishment
- Straffreiheitexemption from punishment
- Straflosigkeitfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Greek ατιμωρησία
- ατιμωρησία (atimorisía)freedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Hungarian büntetlenség, büntetlenség
- büntetlenségexemption from punishment
- büntetlenségfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Icelandic refsileysi
- refsileysifreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Indonesian impunitas
- impunitasfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Italian impunità
- impunitàfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Japanese 刑事免責
- 刑事免責 (keiji menseki)exemption from punishment
Latin impūnitās, impūnitās
- impūnitāsexemption from punishment
- impūnitāsfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Lithuanian nebaudžiamumas
- nebaudžiamumasfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Norwegian Bokmål straffrihet
- straffrihetfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Polish bezkarność, bezkarność
- bezkarnośćexemption from punishment
- bezkarnośćfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Portuguese impunidade, impunidade
- impunidadeexemption from punishment
- impunidadefreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
- imunidadefreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Russian освобожде́ние от наказа́ния, ненаказу́емость
- освобожде́ние от наказа́ния (osvoboždénije ot nakazánija)exemption from punishment
- ненаказу́емость (nenakazújemostʹ)exemption from punishment
- безнака́занность (beznakázannostʹ)freedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Scottish Gaelic saorsa o pheanas
- saorsa o pheanasexemption from punishment
Slovak beztrestnosť
- beztrestnosťfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Spanish impunidad, impunidad
- impunidadexemption from punishment
- impunidadfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Swedish straffrihet
- straffrihetfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Turkish cezasızlık, cezasızlık
- cezasızlıkexemption from punishment
- cezasızlıkfreedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Ukrainian звільнення від покарання, безка́рність
- звільнення від покарання (zvilʹnennja vid pokarannja)exemption from punishment
- безка́рність (bezkárnistʹ)freedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.
Cite this entry
APA
impunity. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impunity
MLA
“impunity.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impunity. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “impunity,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impunity.
Source: impunity on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.