venal
[ veen-l ]
/ ˈvin l /
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.
QUIZZES
DISCOVER THE INFLUENCE OF PORTUGUESE ON ENGLISH VIA THIS QUIZ!
We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?
Question 1 of 11
Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?
Origin of venal
synonym study for venal
1. See corrupt.
OTHER WORDS FROM venal
ve·nal·ly, adverbnon·ve·nal, adjectivenon·ve·nal·ly, adverbun·ve·nal, adjectiveWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH venal
venal , venialWords nearby venal
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
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, adverbWord Origin for venal
C17: from Latin vēnālis, from vēnum sale
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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