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venal

[ veen-l ]
/ ˈvin l /
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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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use venal in a sentence

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 (viːˈnĂŠlÉȘtÉȘ), 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
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