venial

[vee-nee-uhl, veen-yuhl]

adjective

1. able to be forgiven or pardoned; not seriously wrong, as a sin (mortal ).

2. excusable; trifling; minor.

   a venial error; a venial offense.

   Synonyms: forgivable, pardonable, slight

venial

/ ˌviːnɪ'ælɪtɪ, ˈviːnɪəl /

adjective

1. easily excused or forgiven

   a venial error

Other Word Forms

• veniality noun
• venialness noun
• venially adverb
• unvenial adjective
• unvenially adverb
• unvenialness noun
• unveniality noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of venial¹

1250–1300; Middle English < Medieval Latin veniālis, equivalent to Latin veni ( a ) grace, favor, indulgence (akin to venus; venerate, Venus ) + -ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of venial¹

C13: via Old French from Late Latin veniālis, from Latin venia forgiveness; related to Latin venus love

Example Sentences

The enormity of Catherine’s cancer diagnosis, and her plea for “time, space and privacy,” have eclipsed the venial sins of Kate-Gate.

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Besides the many venial sins uncovered by the authors, a graver set of dubious practices emerges.

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There are mortal lies and venial lies, cruel lies and merciful lies.

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“People are venial, people want attention, people are angry, people are jealous,” the governor said.

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Gene Weingarten’s entertaining and otherwise accurate list of venial sins in his Nov. 1 Washington Post Magazine column, “Gene engages in venial labor,” reflected an error of canonical proportion.

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