adj. 1. Easily excused or forgiven; pardonable: a venial offense. 2. Roman Catholic Church Minor, therefore warranting only temporal punishment. [Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin veniālis, from Latin venia, forgiveness; see wen-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] ve′ni·ali·ty (vē′nē-ălĭ-tē, vēn-yăl-), veni·al·ness (vēnē-əl-nĭs, vēnyəl-) n. veni·al·ly adv. |
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