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Immunity / Impunity: The Penguin Guide To Plain English

This document provides definitions and explanations of the subtle differences between several pairs of words: - "immunity" refers to freedom from legal obligations or restraints, while "impunity" describes exemption from penalty or charge. - To "imply" something is to indirectly convey a message, while to "infer" means to deduce a message rather than convey it directly. - Something that is "inapt" is inappropriate or unsuitable, while "inept" implies a degree of clumsiness or stupidity in addition to lack of skill or appropriateness. - Currently, an "informant" provides information, while an "informer" specifically reports offenses against the law, though historically

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21 views

Immunity / Impunity: The Penguin Guide To Plain English

This document provides definitions and explanations of the subtle differences between several pairs of words: - "immunity" refers to freedom from legal obligations or restraints, while "impunity" describes exemption from penalty or charge. - To "imply" something is to indirectly convey a message, while to "infer" means to deduce a message rather than convey it directly. - Something that is "inapt" is inappropriate or unsuitable, while "inept" implies a degree of clumsiness or stupidity in addition to lack of skill or appropriateness. - Currently, an "informant" provides information, while an "informer" specifically reports offenses against the law, though historically

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Ilias
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Penguin Guide to Plain English

immunity / impunity
There is a slight overlap o f meaning between these two words. The w ord
im m unity is used medically of the bodys ability to resist disease and
m ore generally o f freedom from legal obligations and from official
restraints (In return for agreeing to assist the authorities, the form er
criminal was granted im m unity from prosecution) . Im punity is exem p
tion from charge or penalty and thus now describes a state o f safety ( He
ridiculed the authorities w ith im punity).
imply I infer
To im ply something is to convey it by w hat is said, perhaps indirectly.
If a father informs his unem ployed son that there is w ork to be had in a
nearby firm, he is probably im plying that the son should go and apply
for a job there. In fact the w ord im ply is rarely misused. W hat goes
w rong generally is that the w ord infer is used as though it meant the
same as im ply. By every thing she said, she inferred that I was lazy
should be: she implied that I was lazy. In m odern usage to infer is not
to convey a message but to deduce one (From his sickly appearance and
lack o f appetite I inferred that he was ill).
inapt I inept
A thing w hich is apt is highly suitable to its purpose. Thus w hat is
inapt is inappropriate. The w ord is also used to mean unskilful, that
is, lacking in aptitude. Inept is originally the same w ord spelt differently
but we tend to apply it to a degree of inappropriateness and lack o f skill
that implies clumsiness or stupidity ( It was inapt of him to miss his
m others funeral, and inept to imagine that no one w ould notice).
informant I informer
The history o f these tw o words is curious. In present-day usage, an
inform ant is simply a person w ho conveys inform ation, while an
inform er is someone w ho lays inform ation against another, bringing
to light offences against the law. In the eighteenth century, however, the
w ord inform ant was used in this latter sense, and the w ord inform er
could be used to mean one w ho animates and inspires. Thus in Pope we
find Nature! inform er o f the hum an heart.

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