venal

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"Today the sins of Ophuls 'Lola Montes seem venal, its accomplishments extraordinary," wondering whether venal should be venial.

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Definitions (11)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. adjective Open to bribery; mercenary: a venal police officer.
  2. adjective Capable of betraying honor, duty, or scruples for a price; corruptible.
  3. adjective Marked by corrupt dealings, especially bribery: a venal administration.
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Examples (50)

  • "Today the sins of Ophuls 'Lola Montes seem venal, its accomplishments extraordinary," wondering whether venal should be venial. —  Blog updates
  • Don't let the parasitical political class paint you out as a venal thief - those receipts belong in the public domain, the public paid for them you can show us where the money went. —  Guy Fawkes' blog
  • Israel has maintained the most venal, vicious and murderous occupation in modern history and you dare to blame the people they abuse. —  newmatilda.com - Comments
  • Blagojevich may be being his typical venal, conniving self. —  Dissident Voice
  • George's two German mistresses -- the Duchess of Kendall (1667-1743) and the Countess of Darlington -- were ugly and venal, and were objects of contempt after both became implicated in corrupt dealings with the South Sea Company. —  Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium - Recent changes [en]
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Latin vēnālis, from vēnum, sale; see wes-3 in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Old French venal, French vénal = Spanish Portuguese venal = Italian venule, from Latin venalis, of or pertaining to selling, purchasable, from venus, also venum, sale, = Greek ώνος, price; cf. ὠνή, purchase, = Sanskrit vasna, price, wages, wealth; perhaps from √ vas, dwell, exist: see was. From Latin venus are ult. English vend, etc.
  2. = Spanish Portuguese venal, from New Latin venalis, from Latin vena, vein: see vein. Cf. veinal.
 

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/ˈvinəl/
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