venial
[ vee-nee-uhl, veen-yuhl ]
/ ˈvi ni əl, ˈvin yəl /
adjective
able to be forgiven or pardoned; not seriously wrong, as a sin (opposed to mortal).
excusable; trifling; minor: a venial error; a venial offense.
QUIZZES
Can You Ace This Quiz About “Compliment” vs. “Complement”?
Take this quiz to see if you really know the difference between “compliment” and “complement"!
Question 1 of 11
“Compliment” and “complement” had a shared meaning a long time ago, but today they are no longer interchangeable.
Origin of venial
OTHER WORDS FROM venial
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH venial
venal venialWords nearby venial
venge, vengeance, vengeful, veni, vidi, vici, veni-, venial, venial sin, venice, venin, venipuncture, venire facias
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for venial
British Dictionary definitions for venial
venial
/ (ˈviːnɪəl) /
adjective
easily excused or forgivena venial error
Derived forms of venial
veniality (ˌviːnɪ'ælɪtɪ), nounvenially, adverbWord Origin for venial
C13: via Old French from Late Latin veniālis, from Latin venia forgiveness; related to Latin venus love
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