payoff vs payola

payoff and payola both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
payoff	Yes	No	No	No
payola	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, payola is a hyponym of payoff; that is, payola is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than payoff:

payoff: payment made to a person in a position of trust to corrupt his judgment
payola: a bribe given to a disc jockey to induce him to promote a particular record

Other hyponyms of payoff include hush money, kickback, soap.

payoff (noun)	payola (noun)
a recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing	a bribe given to a disc jockey to induce him to promote a particular record
the final payment of a debt
payment made to a person in a position of trust to corrupt his judgment
the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property