venal

[ veen-l ]
/ ˈvin l /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR venal ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

willing to sell one's influence, especially in return for a bribe; open to bribery; mercenary: a venal judge.
able to be purchased, as by a bribe: venal acquittals.
associated with or characterized by bribery: a venal administration; venal agreements.

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Origin of venal

1645–55; < Latin vēnālis, equivalent to vēn(um) (accusative) for sale (cf. vend) + -ālis -al1

synonym study for venal

1. See corrupt.

OTHER WORDS FROM venal

ve·nal·ly, adverbnon·ve·nal, adjectivenon·ve·nal·ly, adverbun·ve·nal, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH venal

venal venial

Words nearby venal

vena cava, vena contracta, venacavography, venae cavernosae penis, venae rectae, venal, venality, venatic, venation, vend, venda
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to venal

unscrupulous, crooked, immoral, dishonest, corrupt, unethical, amoral, bent, double-dealing, mercenary, padded, unprincipled, unprofessional, conscienceless, purchasable, buyable

Example sentences from the Web for venal

British Dictionary definitions for venal

venal
/ (ˈviːnəl) /

adjective

easily bribed or corrupted; mercenarya venal magistrate
characterized by corruptiona venal civilization
open to purchase, esp by briberya venal contract

Derived forms of venal

venality (viːˈnælɪtɪ), nounvenally, adverb

Word Origin for venal

C17: from Latin vēnālis, from vēnum sale
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012