Legal Definitions - venial

The term venial describes a minor fault, offense, or transgression that is considered easily forgivable or pardonable, rather than a serious wrongdoing.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Imagine a new employee who, in their first week, accidentally uses the wrong template for a routine internal memo. While company policy dictates a specific format, this minor deviation does not affect the memo's clarity or purpose and causes no disruption to operations. This would be considered a venial error, as it is a small, easily corrected mistake that is readily forgivable by management.

• Consider a situation where a homeowner accidentally trims their hedge a few inches beyond their property line into a neighbor's yard. The neighbor notices but understands it was an unintentional oversight, causing no permanent damage or significant inconvenience. This minor encroachment is a venial transgression, as it is easily pardonable and does not warrant a serious dispute.

• In a business context, a supplier might deliver a small order of non-critical office supplies one day later than the agreed-upon date. If the client had sufficient stock and experienced no operational delays or financial losses due to this slight delay, the late delivery could be seen as a venialbreach of contract. Its impact is negligible, making it a forgivable oversight rather than a serious contractual failure.