venality

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

More broadly the play is a tart vivisection of human pettiness and venality, as one by one the characters’ prejudices, peccadilloes and blinkered views are exposed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

Putin biographer Masha Gessen called Putin “the man without a face,” alluding not only to his resolutely nondescript quality, but his canniness in using it to conceal sharp-edged ambition and deep-seated venality.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2023

Landlords are opposed to this and other measures and not out of venality.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 3, 2023

Yes, there is abundant greed and venality on Wall Street.

From New York Times • Feb. 4, 2021

"That it would be much better to allow venality and the 'droit annuel' to continue to exist, than to abolish these two establishments, which are not to be changed suddenly without shaking the state."

From A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 10 (of 10) From "The Works of Voltaire - A Contemporary Version" by Fran?ois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)