impunity

/ɪmˈpjuːnɪti/

Etymology

From Middle French impunité, from Latin impunitas, from impunis (“without punishment”).

impunity means exemption from punishment. Lexicurio rates it Distinctive — a strength score of 66 out of 100.

Why this word is great

IMPUNITY — [Noun] Exemption from punishment or harmful consequences for one's actions. From the Latin impunitas, from in- ("not") and poena ("punishment, penalty"). Unlike "immunity," which suggests a sanctioned, inherent protection, or "amnesty," which denotes a formal, collective pardon, impunity is the stark condition of evasion—the consequence that fails to land. It is the corrupt official retiring to a seaside villa, the stone cast through a window that never breaks, and the cat walking, tail aloft, from the wreckage without a glance—a quiet, corrosive proof that the universe’s moral ledger is, at times, merely a suggestion.

noun

Exemption from punishment.
Freedom from punishment or retribution; security from any reprisal or injurious consequences of an action, behaviour etc.“Maternus, a private ſoldier, of a daring boldneſs above his ſtation,[…] plundered with impunity the rich and defenceleſs cities of Gaul and Spain.”