Exemption from punishment or freedom from the injurious consequences of an action.
From Latin 'impunitas,' combining 'in-' (not) and 'poena' (punishment). The word entered English in the 16th century through French, maintaining its legal and moral connotations of acting without facing consequences for wrongdoing.
This word is almost always used in the phrase 'with impunity,' creating a sense of brazen wrongdoing without consequence. The Latin root 'poena' also gives us 'penalty,' 'punish,' and even 'pain,' showing how punishment and suffering were linguistically linked in ancient thought.
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