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What's the difference between venal and venial?
If you are given the choice between acts that are venal and those that are venial, go for the venial. Although the two words look and sound alike, they have very different meanings and histories. Venal demonstrates the adage that anything can be had if the price is high enough and the morals are low enough. That word originated with the Latin venum, which simply referred to something that was sold or for sale. Some of those transactions must have been rather shady because by the mid-1600s, venal had gained the sense of corruption it carries today. Venial sins, on the other hand, are pardonable, the kind that show that everyone makes mistakes sometimes. That forgiving term descends from venia, Latin for "favor," "indulgence," or "pardon."
Examples of venal in a Sentence
Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 13 June 2026
In his stead, the United States propped up the venal and repressive shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who proved to be a pliable ally readily serving its oil and armament interests.
—Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2026
The cruel cartoon of a constantly shrewish, venal, and disloyal Mary began cementing itself in the public mind when William Herndon, Lincoln’s Springfield law partner, started lecturing about his reminiscences within months of the President’s murder.
—Literary Hub, 21 May 2026
That landslide victory was galvanized by deadly street protests in the fall led by a Gen Z determined to purge a political old guard perceived as venal and out of touch.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 15 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for venal
Cite this Entry
“Venal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/venal. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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