venial C2 Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈviːni.əl/ See IPA manual Freq #84375 Meanings 1 adj easily excused or forgiven It was only a venial error. 2 adj warranting only temporal punishment It was considered a venial sin. 3 adj Able to be forgiven; worthy of forgiveness. He did not say that he should favour such an attempt; But he did say that such an attempt would be venial. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · easily excused or forgiven excusable 2 adj · warranting only temporal... minor 3 adj · able to be forgiven; worthy... excusableforgivablepardonable Appears in Phrases (1) See all venial sin in Catholic teaching, a less serious wrongdoing that does not completely separate a person from God's grace Adjective + noun Etymology From Old French venial, borrowed from Late Latin veniālem (“pardonable”), from Latin venia (“forgiveness”). Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # venial **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈviːni.əl/ **Frequency rank:** 84375 ## Meanings 1. easily excused or forgiven 2. warranting only temporal punishment 3. Able to be forgiven; worthy of forgiveness. ## Examples - It was only a venial error. - It was considered a venial sin. - He did not say that he should favour such an attempt; But he did say that such an attempt would be venial. ## Synonyms - excusable - minor - forgivable - pardonable ## Etymology From Old French venial, borrowed from Late Latin veniālem (“pardonable”), from Latin venia (“forgiveness”). ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown