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
Etymology
Origin of venal
1645–55; < Latin vēnālis, equivalent to vēn ( um ) (accusative) for sale ( cf. vend) + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
Someone with venal motives is corrupt and maybe a little evil. Nobody wants to be thought of as venal. Venal actions include taking bribes, giving jobs to your friends, and cheating. Venal means about the same thing as "corrupt" or "corruptible." Venal people are considered sleazy and untrustworthy. They're often criminals. No one is perfect, and most of us have venal motives at some point.
Vocabulary lists containing venal
30 GRE Words Beginning with "T" "U" "V" and "W"
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "V"
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The Count of Monte Cristo
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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.
Vulgar, venal creatures like him are not capable of creating anything of beauty or artistic value; they can only destroy.
From Salon • May 23, 2026
Network, from 1976, cast him as a venal television producer.
From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026
Frank Capra, the multiple Academy Award winner whose everyman heroes symbolized the American spirit triumphing over mercenary or venal big business and big government, died Tuesday at his desert retirement home.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 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
There was something venal about his thin-lipped face; he had the air of a man to whom corruption was familiar.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
