as in corruptible
open to improper influence and especially bribery
that judge is known for being venal and easily bought
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Recent Examples of venal
Berger and Nina Gold cast Tilda Swinton as Cynthia Blithe, the private investigator who tracks him, laser like, to China, with Fala Chen playing Dao Ming, the savvy hostess who sees something behind Doyle’s desperate tactics, and Alex Jennings as an expat of the most venal variety.
—
Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
Or were the Arabs in Palestine done in again and again by inflexible, wrongheaded, venal, and corrupt leadership?
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2025
In an age when Congress is increasingly a repository for publicity-seeking fools and venal pocket-liners rather than legislators, the Democratic voters of New York’s 16th congressional district have a rare opportunity to exchange a clown and antisemite for a more standard-issue liberal.
—The Editors, National Review, 25 June 2024
Farmers, multinational firms, and other venal special interests have captured policymaking.
—Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for venal
Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
Or were the Arabs in Palestine done in again and again by inflexible, wrongheaded, venal, and corrupt leadership?
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2025
In an age when Congress is increasingly a repository for publicity-seeking fools and venal pocket-liners rather than legislators, the Democratic voters of New York’s 16th congressional district have a rare opportunity to exchange a clown and antisemite for a more standard-issue liberal.
—The Editors, National Review, 25 June 2024
Farmers, multinational firms, and other venal special interests have captured policymaking.
—Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for venal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for venal
Adjective
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From fragmented records to corruptible datasets and the general noise across social media, agentic systems are facing a trust and truth crisis at the most fundamental level.—
Lawrence Wintermeyer,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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Iran prefers weak allies over strong ones, and corrupt and corruptible governments over ones that respond to their citizens’ needs.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Rooting out corrupt generals and criminal networks could take months, or even years.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
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Certainly, part of the way to improve Venezuela and to improve the Western Hemisphere and improve the lives of Americans is to get their very corrupt 25 years in decline, oil industry back going again.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Venal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/venal. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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