Word of the Day for Wednesday, June 28, 2006 venal \VEE-nuhl\, adjective:1. Capable of being bought or obtained for money or other valuable consideration; held for sale; salable; purchasable.2. Capable of being corrupted.3. Marked by or associated with bribery and corrupt dealings. Not everything was so venal in this operation, however. Sometimes votes were bought outright, but this was frowned on if the sums were too high.

-- Kenneth R. Johnston, The Hidden Wordsworth

The news items accumulate to project an image of French politics as venal, power-mongering, and posing a crazy threat to all those values of humanity and civilization that Picasso's work had always embraced.

-- Rosalind E. Krauss, The Picasso Papers While the enemy in Vietnam was mysterious and, to some Americans, heroic, America's allies in Saigon seemed venal and corrupt, more interested in graft than in combat and unable to rally their people behind a common cause or to create an effective military force.

-- Charles E. Neu, After Vietnam Magistrates were expected to supplement their modest incomes, in theory from personal fortunes, in reality from a variety of venal practices.

-- Michelle De Kretser, The Rose Grower

Venal comes from the Latin venalis, from venum, "sale." It is related to vendor and vending machine. Be careful not to confuse it with venial, "easily excused or forgiven." Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for venal