venal

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈvinəl/ UK /ˈviːnəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
open to bribery; capable of being corrupted for money

A venal official quietly waved the smugglers through customs.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · open to bribery; capable of... corruptiblebribablemercenary corrupt unprincipled

Opposites

honest incorruptible upright scrupulous

Word family

Derived forms venalityvenally

Related forms vend vendor venial

Simplified etymology

Venal comes from Latin venalis, “for sale,” derived from venum, “thing for sale.” In the mid-17th century it meant “available for purchase,” whether merchandise or a favor, and later developed its modern association with bribery and corruptibility.

Etymology

From Latin 'venalis' ('for sale, that may be bought'), from 'venum' ('sale, that which is for sale'). Not to be confused with 'venial'.

venalis Latin venum Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# venal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈvinəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈviːnəl/

## Meanings
1. open to bribery; capable of being corrupted for money

## Examples
- A venal official quietly waved the smugglers through customs.

## Synonyms
- corruptible
- bribable
- mercenary
- corrupt
- unprincipled

## Antonyms
- honest
- incorruptible
- upright
- scrupulous

## Derived Forms
- venality
- venally

## Related Forms
- vend
- vendor
- venial

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: venalis
- Root: venum

## Etymology
From Latin 'venalis' ('for sale, that may be bought'), from 'venum' ('sale, that which is for sale'). Not to be confused with 'venial'.

## AI Etymology
Venal comes from Latin 'venalis' ('for sale, that may be bought'), from 'venum' ('sale, that which is for sale'). Not to be confused with 'venial'. In current use it is an adjective meaning "open to bribery; capable of being corrupted for money". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is mainly one of transmission into English, with the older form and sense carried through borrowing or adaptation. The historical chain includes Latin venalis and Latin venum. Related English forms include vend, vendor, and venial. Derived forms include venality and venally. As a result, the modern word is best read as a negative, privative, or reversative formation built on a historically older base.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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