as in pardonable
worthy of forgiveness
taking the restaurant's menu as a souvenir seems like a venial offense
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Recent Examples of venial
This would have encouraged him at sensitive ages and times in his life to seriously think about the distinctions between sins of omission and sins of commission, between white lies and perjury, between venial and mortal sins, and the relationship between knowledge, intention, and guilt.
—
Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 5 Mar. 2021
But logging off—and returning to the sphere in which people are apt to forgive one another for venial affronts—is no longer an option.
—Becca Rothfeld, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2022
And that loyalty has been reciprocated with job security and forgiveness of venial sins.
—cleveland, 12 Dec. 2021
The list is long of international companies, and even celebrities, who’ve groveled in apology for sins as venial as recognizing Taiwan.
—Kevin T. Dugan, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2021
This is, of course, the day-to-day venial reality for attorneys who don’t prosecute serial killers, and Saul can always extrapolate small crimes into tall tales.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 18 June 2020
Taibbi favors a cynical style evenly applied across the universe of real and perceived journalistic trespasses, challenging a reader to sort mortal from venial.
—Ann Marie Lipinski, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2019
His presence was more difficult to justify than the venial offenses of Spygate or Deflategate.
—BostonGlobe.com, 22 Sep. 2019
Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 5 Mar. 2021
But logging off—and returning to the sphere in which people are apt to forgive one another for venial affronts—is no longer an option.
—Becca Rothfeld, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2022
And that loyalty has been reciprocated with job security and forgiveness of venial sins.
—cleveland, 12 Dec. 2021
The list is long of international companies, and even celebrities, who’ve groveled in apology for sins as venial as recognizing Taiwan.
—Kevin T. Dugan, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2021
This is, of course, the day-to-day venial reality for attorneys who don’t prosecute serial killers, and Saul can always extrapolate small crimes into tall tales.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 18 June 2020
Taibbi favors a cynical style evenly applied across the universe of real and perceived journalistic trespasses, challenging a reader to sort mortal from venial.
—Ann Marie Lipinski, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2019
His presence was more difficult to justify than the venial offenses of Spygate or Deflategate.
—BostonGlobe.com, 22 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for venial
Adjective
-
All this is to say that any excesses of enthusiasm for Friday (and Thursday) might seem pardonable, although each day reached the thermal pinnacle of the 80s.—
Martin Weil,
Washington Post,
19 July 2024
-
According to Cohen, because misdemeanor possession of marijuana is now a pardonable offense, Department of Justice guidelines would not permit a plea to that effect.—
Brittny Mejia,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Feb. 2024
Adjective
-
In hindsight, his decision to betray his budding mentee, Han, was perfectly justifiable.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
22 Apr. 2025
-
Although the initial school closures may have been justifiable (even if off-script in many locations), there was no plan on when and how to reopen.—
David Zweig,
The Atlantic,
17 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Venial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/venial. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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