venal

[veen-l] Example Sentences Origin

ve·nal

[veen-l]
adjective
1.
willing to sell one's influence, especially in return for a bribe; open to bribery; mercenary: a venal judge.
2.
able to be purchased, as by a bribe: venal acquittals.
3.
associated with or characterized by bribery: a venal administration; venal agreements.

Origin:
1645–55; < Latin vēnālis, equivalent to vēn(um) (accusative) for sale (compare vend) + -ālis -al1

ve·nal·ly, adverb
non·ve·nal, adjective
non·ve·nal·ly, adverb
un·ve·nal, adjective

veinal, venal, venery, venial.


1. bribable, corruptible. See corrupt.


1. incorruptible.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To VENAL

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Venal is a GRE word you need to know.
So is codify. Does it mean:
to reduce laws or rules to a code or arrange in a systematic collection
amateur
Example Sentences
  • Whatever sin you committed to end up in one of those must have been comparatively venal.
  • Even many of his critics see him as a deluded knight-errant rather than as a venal opportunist.
  • He could try to fight impeachment in parliament, by cajoling venal politicians there.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
venal (ˈviːnəl)
 
adj
1.  easily bribed or corrupted; mercenary: a venal magistrate
2.  characterized by corruption: a venal civilization
3.  open to purchase, esp by bribery: a venal contract
 
[C17: from Latin vēnālis, from vēnum sale]
 
venality
 
n
 
'venally
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

venal
1650s, "offered for sale, capable of being obtained for a price," from Fr. vénal, from L. venalis "that is for sale," from venum (nom. *venus) "for sale," from PIE base *wes- "to buy, sell" (cf. Skt. vasnah "purchase money," vasnam "reward," vasnayati "he bargains, haggles;" Gk. onos "price paid,
EXPAND
purchase," oneisthai "to buy").
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT