venal

venal

open to bribery; mercenary; corruptible: a venal administration prone to greed and deception

Not to be confused with:

venial – pardonable; trifling; not seriously wrong: His outburst in class was only a venial offense.

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

ve·nal

 (vē′nəl)

adj.

1.

a. Open to bribery; mercenary: a venal police officer.

b. Characterized by corrupt dealings, especially bribery: a venal arrangement between the police and the drug dealers.

2. Archaic Obtainable for a price.

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[Latin vēnālis, from vēnum, sale; see wes- in Indo-European roots.]

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ve′nal·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

venal

(ˈviːnəl)

adj

1. easily bribed or corrupted; mercenary: a venal magistrate.

2. characterized by corruption: a venal civilization.

3. open to purchase, esp by bribery: a venal contract.

[C17: from Latin vēnālis, from vēnum sale]

venality n

ˈvenally adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ve•nal

(ˈvin l)

adj.

1. open to bribery or corruption: a venal judge.

2. able to be purchased, as by a bribe: venal acquittals.

3. associated with or characterized by bribery.

[1645–55; < Latin vēnālis=vēn(um) for sale (compare vend) + -ālis -al¹]

ve•nal′i•ty, n.

ve′nal•ly, adv.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Adj.

1.

venal - capable of being corrupted; "corruptible judges"; "dishonest politicians"; "a purchasable senator"; "a venal police officer" bribable, corruptible, purchasable, dishonest corrupt - lacking in integrity; "humanity they knew to be corrupt...from the day of Adam's creation"; "a corrupt and incompetent city government"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

venal

adjective corrupt, bent (slang), crooked (informal), prostituted, grafting (informal), mercenary, sordid, rapacious, unprincipled, dishonourable, corruptible, purchasable venal and totally corrupt politicians
principled, upright, honourable, honest, law-abiding, incorruptible

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

venal

adjective

1. Capable of being bribed:

buyable, corruptible, purchasable.

2. Ruthlessly seeking personal advantage:

corrupt, mercenary, praetorian.

Informal: crooked.

3. Marked by dishonesty, especially in matters of public trust:

corrupt, dishonest.

Informal: crooked.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

bestechlich

vénal

corruttibile

venal

[ˈviːnl] ADJ [person] → venal, sobornable; [action] → corrupto, corrompido

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

venal

[ˈviːn^əl] adj [person] → vénal(e)
venal politicians → des politiciens vénaux

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

venal

adj (liter) person → käuflich, feil (liter); practices → korrupt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

venal

[ˈviːnl] adj (frm) → venale

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

venal

a. venal, rel. a las venas.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012