venal
Americanadjective
-
willing to sell one's influence, especially in return for a bribe; open to bribery; mercenary.
a venal judge.
- Synonyms:
- corruptible, bribable
- Antonyms:
- incorruptible
-
able to be purchased, as by a bribe.
venal acquittals.
-
associated with or characterized by bribery.
a venal administration; venal agreements.
adjective
-
easily bribed or corrupted; mercenary
a venal magistrate
-
characterized by corruption
a venal civilization
-
open to purchase, esp by bribery
a venal contract
Related Words
See corrupt.
Other Word Forms
- nonvenal adjective
- nonvenally adverb
- unvenal adjective
- venality noun
- venally adverb
Etymology
Origin of venal
1645–55; < Latin vēnālis, equivalent to vēn ( um ) (accusative) for sale ( vend ) + -ālis -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
MacKenzie Scott donated $700 million to more than a dozen historically Black colleges and universities, showing that not all tech billionaires are selfish and venal.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 28, 2025
Delegates to the Constitutional Convention were desperate to protect their young nation against venal officeholders, discussing fears of corruption so frequently that James Madison made a special note of their preoccupation with the subject.
From Slate • May 12, 2025
Santos incarnates its venal and ridiculous side, the part rooted in reality TV and get-rich-quick schemes.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 3, 2023
I feel like there's a cynicism — you use the word venal — because there's a sort of very detached, almost nihilistic perspective that I feel has entered our culture.
From Salon • Sep. 29, 2023
Nor did the venal mayor of Fairfax—an ally of Hale’s who also served as a guardian.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
