immunity
the body’s protection against disease
The state when a person or animal cannot easily get a disease, often because of a vaccine or past infection.
immunity to [a disease or infection]
- Vaccination helps your body develop immunity to the virus.
- After recovering from the illness, she had temporary immunity to reinfection.
- Scientists are studying how long immunity lasts after the third dose.
- Children do not yet have strong immunity to this new strain of flu.
- Herd immunity is reached when enough people are protected that the disease stops spreading easily.
- The vaccine gives you immunity to the disease.
- His body has immunity because he had the virus last year.
- Older people often have weaker immunity.
- Doctors want to increase immunity in the population.
- Good sleep and food can help your immunity.
legal protection from prosecution
A legal protection that means the law cannot punish or charge a person in a particular situation.
immunity from [prosecution / legal action]
- The witness was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony.
- Diplomatic immunity protects foreign diplomats from many local laws.
- The company argued that government agencies should have sovereign immunity from such lawsuits.
- Under the agreement, she received immunity for any crimes connected to the case.
- The court ruled that the official did not have qualified immunity in this situation.
- The police gave him immunity so he would tell the truth.
- Diplomats often have immunity in the country where they work.
- He wants legal immunity before he talks to the judge.
- The lawyer said the company has no immunity in this case.
- They refused to testify until the court offered immunity.
freedom from negative effects
A state where something bad, like criticism or stress, does not affect you or cannot easily hurt you.
immunity to/from [criticism / harm / consequences]
- Her years in the public eye have given her a kind of immunity to criticism.
- Wealth does not guarantee immunity from sadness or loneliness.
- He seemed to have complete immunity to embarrassment.
- Success can create a dangerous feeling of immunity from consequences.
- No one has total immunity to stress, no matter how calm they look.
- Famous people need some immunity to criticism.
- Money does not give you immunity from problems.
- He acts like he has immunity from all rules.
- You cannot have full immunity to stress at work.
- The job gave her no immunity from public blame.
- Base: immunity
- Plural: immunities, immunity
blanket immunity
1total protection from all charges
Legal protection that covers everything in a case, not just one small part.
- They were unwilling to offer blanket immunity to everyone involved in the scandal.
- The agreement did not provide blanket immunity; it applied only to past tax offenses.
- Some lawmakers opposed giving blanket immunity to the company.
grant immunity
1officially give legal protection
To officially decide that a person will not be punished or charged in court, usually so they will give information.
- The judge agreed to grant immunity to the key witness.
- Prosecutors often grant immunity to minor players to catch the main criminal.
- They refused to testify until the court decided whether to grant immunity.
herd immunity
1population-level protection from disease
A situation where so many people in a group are protected from a disease that the disease cannot spread easily.
- Health officials said the country has not yet reached herd immunity against the virus.
- Vaccination is the safest way to build herd immunity in the community.
- When herd immunity is high, even people who are not vaccinated gain some protection.
immunity from prosecution
1legal protection from charges
A legal protection that means a person cannot be charged in court for a certain crime.
- In exchange for immunity from prosecution, he agreed to testify against his former boss.
- The witness demanded full immunity from prosecution before speaking to investigators.
- She signed a deal giving her limited immunity from prosecution on tax-related offenses.
qualified immunity
1conditional legal protection for officials
A legal rule that often protects government workers, like police officers, from being sued unless they clearly broke well-known rights.
- The court ruled that the officer was protected by qualified immunity.
- Debates over police reform often focus on changing or ending qualified immunity.
- Critics say qualified immunity makes it too difficult for victims to win civil rights cases.
sovereign immunity
1government protection from lawsuits
A legal idea that a government or state cannot be taken to court unless it agrees.
- The lawsuit was dismissed on the grounds of sovereign immunity.
- Critics argue that sovereign immunity makes it too hard to hold governments responsible.
- The new law limits sovereign immunity in cases of serious human rights abuses.
diplomatic immunity
1legal protection for diplomats
a special rule that means foreign diplomats are usually not punished by the local laws of the country they are in
- Because of diplomatic immunity, the envoy could not be prosecuted.
- Because of diplomatic immunity, the ambassador could not be arrested by local police.
- The case renewed debate over the limits of diplomatic immunity.
- The case raised questions about whether diplomatic immunity should be limited in serious crimes.
- He abused his diplomatic immunity to avoid paying fines.
- He reminded reporters that the official enjoyed diplomatic immunity while serving abroad.