Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

venial

/ˈviːni.əl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.90 in modern English

Syllables: ve-nial
IPA: /ˈviːni.əl/

9

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Able to be forgiven; worthy of forgiveness.

adj

Able to be forgiven; worthy of forgiveness.

adj

Not causing spiritual death.

Example Sentences

"He did not say that he should favour such an attempt; But he did say that such an attempt would be venial."
"His venial youthful indiscretions."

Etymology

From Old French venial, borrowed from Late Latin veniālem (“pardonable”), from Latin venia (“forgiveness”).

Origin

Source language: Old French

Word Breakdown

Root: venial, venialis, venia

Inflected Forms

more venial (comparative) most venial (superlative)

Derived Forms

veniality venially venialness

Phrases

venial sin

Synonyms

pardonable excusable forgivable minor

Antonyms

unvenial unforgivable mortal

Questions

How do you pronounce venial?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈviːni.əl/.
What does venial mean?: Able to be forgiven; worthy of forgiveness.
Where does venial come from?: It is traced to Old French.

How to pronounce venial

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “venial”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈviːni.əl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “venial”.
Repeat and practice — Say “venial” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.