venal or venial?
The two words are derived from entirely different Latin roots: venal comes from venum meaning "something for sale" and venial from venia meaning "forgiveness." Venal, meaning "open to or characterized by corruption," describes people as well as processes and organizations: The political system is so venal that bribery is commonplace.Venial, meaning "easily forgiven," is used in connection with minor faults or transgressions: He was inclined to be thoughtless, but that was a venial fault in one so young. In Roman Catholic theology, a venial sin is one that does not deprive the soul of divine grace, as opposed to a mortal sin, which does.
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