Vocabulary for Ash Wednesday: Venial

Wondrous Words Wednesday

wondrous memeWelcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday, a meme hosted by Kathy at bermudaonion.net. Join me in learning some cool new words.

It’s also Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, a season of contemplation and spiritual growth.  How fitting that my word today is venial.

I actually came across it in the Nov/Dec issue of Writer’s Digest in an article about character motivation.

… some villains have unchanging personalities but changing motivations.  They start out venial, greedy, evil, or destructive…

As a Catholic, I’ve heard this term while discussing sin, but I never expected to find it used to describe character.  Here’s some info from Webster’s:

venial \’vē-nē-əl\ adj from Latin venia favor, pardon; akin to Latin venus, love; of a kind that can be remitted: forgivable, pardonable, venial faults 

This helps explain venial sin: noun; a sin committed without full reflection or consent that does not deprive the soul of sanctifying grace.

So, when I lost my temper and yelled at my kids to get out the door this morning?  That was a venial sin. Forgivable.  Well, at least I hope my children think so.

 Word Nerd WorkoutJane Eyre cover

Think of a venial fault in one of your favorite characters; write a sentence about it.  For example:

Jane patiently endured Mr. Rochester’s venial and unpredictable shifts in temper.

Your turn!  Good luck.

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Thanks for stopping by!

Julia

Julia Tomiak
I believe in the power of words to improve our lives, and I help people find interesting words to read. Member of SCBWI.

8 Comments

  1. Good one, Julia!

    Since returning from Guatemala, I’ve learned to adopt a venial attitude toward those who take a casual attitude toward the suffering of people in third-world countries.

    True statement 🙂

  2. Although I’m not Catholic, I’ve read/heard venial sin used often. Like many of these words, I didn’t bother to look it up. Ah-ha, now I understand. I don’t have a character’s venial sin to share but I will give it some thought.

  3. Love the word! I commit venial sins of motherhood daily…and yes, I do hope that my venial bursts of temper are not what my children remember most about me 🙁 At least we have the oreo truffle to wipe the venial slate clean, right 🙂

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