t of justifiable; as, I think, under
those circumstances, his action was _excusable_. Protestants do not
recognize the distinction between _venial_ and mortal sins. _Venial_
must not be confounded with the very different word VENAL. Compare
VENAL.

Antonyms:

inexcusable, inexpiable, mortal, unpardonable, unjustifiable.

* * * * *

VERACITY.

Synonyms:

candor, honesty, reality, truthfulness,
frankness, ingenuousness, truth, verity.

_Truth_ is primarily and _verity_ is always a quality of thought or
speech, especially of speech, as in exact conformity to fact. _Veracity_
is properly a quality of a person, the habit of speaking and the
disposition to speak the _truth_; a habitual liar may on some occasions
speak the _truth_, but that does not constitute him a man of _veracity_;
on the other hand, a person of undoubted _veracity_ may state (through
ignorance or misinformation) what is not the _truth_. _Truthfulness_ is
a quality that may inhere either in a person or in his statements or
beliefs. _Candor_, _frankness_, _honesty_, and _ingenuousness_ are
allied with _veracity_, and _verity_ with _truth_, while _truthfulness_
may accord with either. _Truth_ in a secondary sense may be applied to
intellectual action or moral character, in the former case becoming a
close synonym of _veracity_; as, I know him to be a man of _truth_.

Antonyms:

deceit, duplicity, falsehood, fiction, lie,
deception, error, falseness, guile, mendacity,
delusion, fabrication, falsity, imposture, untruth.

Compare synonyms for DECEPTION.

* * * * *

VERBAL.

Synonyms:

literal, oral, vocal.

_Oral_ (L. _os_, the mouth) signifies uttered through the mouth or (in
common phrase) by word of mouth; _verbal_ (L. _verbum_, a word)
signifies of, pertaining to, or connected with words, especially with
words as distinguished from the ideas they convey; _vocal_ (L. _vox_,
the voice) signifies of or pertaining to the voice, uttered or modulated
by the voice, and especially uttered with or sounding with full,
resonant voice; _literal_ (L. _litera_, a letter) signifies consisting
of or expressed by letters, or according to the letter, in the broader
sense of the exact meaning or requirement of the words used; what is
called "the letter of the law" is its _literal_ meaning without going
behind what is expresse