Venality is a vice associated with being bribeable or willing to sell one's services or power, especially when people are intended to act in a decent way instead. In its most recognizable form, venality causes people to lie and steal for their own personal advantage, and is related to bribery and nepotism, among other vices. Though not in line with dictionary definitions of the term, modern writers often use it to connote vices only tangentially related to bribery or self-interest, such as cruelty, selfishness, and general dishonesty.