Meaning & use
venal
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Willing to do something dishonest or against one's duty in return for money or other personal gain.
Grammar: Used before a noun (a venal judge) or after be (the officials were venal); it describes people and institutions.
Patterns
- be venal
- a venal official
The venal inspector ignored the safety violations in exchange for an envelope of cash.
Critics accused the senator of being venal and ready to sell his vote.
In a venal system, a favorable ruling often goes to the highest bidder.
adjectivecomparableliterary
Motivated by or involving payment, so that something that should be above profit is treated as for sale.
Grammar: Describes acts or motives rather than people: a venal motive, venal journalism.
Patterns
- a venal motive
- venal practices
Her venal motives became obvious when she charged a fee for every favor.
The newspaper's venal coverage was bought and paid for by advertisers.
He condemned the venal bargaining that had replaced honest public service.
Word forms
| comparative | more venal |
|---|---|
| superlative | most venal |
Common combinations
- a venal official
- A venal official could be persuaded to lose the paperwork.
- venal politicians
- Voters grew tired of venal politicians who served only their donors.
- a venal press
- A venal press prints whatever its owners pay for.
- deeply venal
- The whole department was deeply venal.
- venal motives
- No one suspected venal motives behind her generosity.
Synonyms and how they differ
- corrupt
- Corrupt is broader and covers any dishonest abuse of power, while venal stresses that the person can be bought.
- mercenary
- Mercenary describes someone who is driven by money in general and does not necessarily break the law or betray a duty.
- bribable
- Bribable simply states that someone can be bribed and lacks the moral condemnation that venal carries.
- greedy
- Greedy describes a strong wish for money or goods, but unlike venal it does not imply betraying a position of trust.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: venal or venial?
venal vs venial
Venial means minor and forgivable, as in a venial sin, whereas venal means open to bribery. One letter changes the meaning completely.
Practice
The council was so ___ that building permits were given to whoever paid the largest bribe.
Choose one answer.
Venal means open to bribery, which fits permits sold for bribes. Venial sounds similar but means a minor, forgivable fault.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “venal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.