Meaning & use
bribable
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Meaning
adjectivenot comparable
Willing to accept money or gifts to do something dishonest or against the rules.
Grammar: Describes a person or group; often used with 'be' or as a modifier before a noun.
Patterns
- be bribable
- a bribable official
The inspector was accused of being bribable, but no proof was found.
In a system with low pay, even honest workers can become bribable.
They avoided hiring bribable customs officers by rotating staff frequently.
Common combinations
- highly bribable
- The report described the local police as highly bribable.
- bribable official
- A bribable official can undermine the whole department.
- become bribable
- Under financial pressure, some clerks become bribable.
- considered bribable
- He was considered bribable because of his gambling debts.
Synonyms and how they differ
- corruptible
- Broader: it can mean willing to do anything dishonest, not only taking bribes.
- venal
- More formal and literary; it often suggests a habit of selling influence.
- buyable
- Informal and often used for things, not people; it can also mean 'available for purchase'.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: bribable or bribable vs. bribable?
bribable vs bribable vs. bribable
Both spellings exist; 'bribable' is more common in American English, while 'bribeable' appears in some British sources.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'bribable' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Bribable' is an adjective describing a person, so it follows 'was' and does not take 'to' or 'of'. Option 1 correctly uses it as a predicate adjective.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bribable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.