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Glite Dictionary
loansharking

loansharking

1 8.2
Lending money at very high interest rates and using threats or violence to collect debts
  • noun
  • /ˈloʊnˌʃɑrkɪŋ/
  • NSFW
translation icon : usura
  • Many communities are working to raise awareness about loansharking and its harmful effects on families.

Examples

  • No more loansharking to scum like Tully Alford.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Johnny Graziosi just finished eight years in Sing Sing for loansharking.

    Mickey Blue Eyes (1999)

  • The loansharking predicates are very specific.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • A little bookmaking, some loansharking, extortion, like that.

    Broadway Danny Rose (1984)

  • Oppose watchdog groups who protect average Americans from loansharking lenders.

    Blog text (24)

  • On the loansharking.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Loansharking.

    Gangster Squad (2013)

  • The police arrested several individuals involved in a loansharking scheme where they charged exorbitant interest rates.

  • After struggling to pay his bills, he fell into the trap of loansharking and quickly found himself in danger.

Synonyms

usury
vsloansharking
  • Specialized
10 9.8

To charge very high or illegal interest on loans

is illegal lending that includes threats or violence to collect debts

How Exploitative

loansharking
  • NSFW
1 8.2
usury
  • Specialized
10 9.8
high-interest
12 4.2
lending
94 1.8

Surface Forms

loansharking singular
loansharkings plural

Morphology

loansharking = loan + shark (semi-transparent) = loan + shark + ing

The compound 'loan shark' is fairly interpretable as a predatory lender, and adding -ing to name the practice is regular, but the shark metaphor is not fully literal.

Etymology

Loansharking comes from the simple image of loan ('money lent') plus shark ('dangerous predator'), picturing a lender as a predator that hunts weak people. So loansharking means lending money in a cruel, illegal way with very high interest and often threats.