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Thesaurus: venial

Capable of being forgiven; not heinous; excusable; pardonable; as, a venial fault or transgression.

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  1. a. Capable of being forgiven; not heinous; excusable; pardonable; as, a venial fault or transgression.
  2. a. Allowed; permitted.
  3. adj. warranting only temporal punishment
  4. adj. easily excused or forgiven
  5. 1. Capable of being forgiven; not heinous; excusable; pardonable; as, a venial fault or transgression. So they do nothing, 't is a venial slip. Shak. 2. Allowed; permitted. [Obs.] "Permitting him the while venial discourse unblamed." Milton. Venial sin (R. C. Theol.), a sin which weakens, but does not wholly destroy, sanctifying grace, as do mortal, or deadly, sins. -- Ve"ni*al*ly, adv. -- Ve"ni*al*ness, n. Bp. Hall.
  6. j:100 s warranting only temporal punishment s easily excused or forgiven