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usurious

usurious

1 9.9
Charging interest that is much higher than is fair or allowed by law
  • adjective
  • /juˈzʊəriəs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : usurero
  • Or take the case of excessive credit card interest charges and penalties, usurious payday and subprime lending, and lately, the teaser rates used in home mortgage financing.
  • usurious money

And we now have a regulator, a new regulator that's supposed to stomp on these these usurious practices.

Examples

  • He sent me to a man who makes loans at usurious rates.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • I mostly settle for getting them to buy me drinks at usurious prices.

    Blog text (13)
  • At this usurious rate, the East Coast banks were betting that the Union would last just two years.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Those are foreclosed upon, then rented back to us at usurious rates.

    Blog text (15)
  • People are frustrated as they live on borrowed money from illiterate and usurious money lenders.

    Academic text (2006)
  • And we now have a regulator, a new regulator that's supposed to stomp on these these usurious practices.

  • For instance, dealers in the nearby port of Den Helder, where many Texelians landed their catches, had developed usurious practices.

    Academic text (1996)
  • It gave the priest an entree that allowed him to mobilize for better housing, form cooperatives, and end usurious money lending.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The junta "decreed the abolition of all usurious debts on the part of farmers and fishermen" (Kim 1975, 232).

    Academic text (1992)
  • Many borrowers struggled under the usurious interest rates imposed by local lenders.

Synonyms

outrageous
vsusurious
98 4.2

Too high to be fair or reasonable

is used for charges that cross fair or legal boundaries
steep
vsusurious
39 4.2

Very high in price and hard to afford

is focused on charges that exceed legal or fair limits rather than just high prices
unconscionable
vsusurious
35 8.9

Very wrong and unfair in a way people cannot accept

is about financial charges that violate fair or legal boundaries
exorbitant
vsusurious
25 7.9

A price or cost that is much higher than it should be

is used for charges that specifically surpass legal or fair standards
high-interest
vsusurious
12 4.2

Making you pay a lot of interest on borrowed money

is about rates or charges that exceed legal or fair limits
extortionate
vsusurious
2 7.9

Much more expensive than a fair price

is specifically about charges that break legal and fair limits

Antonyms

302 2.2

A moderate amount or size that is not extreme

How High

usurious
  • Specialized
1 9.9
exorbitant
25 7.9
excessive
224 3.6
steep
39 4.2
high
5 6.3

Surface Forms

usurious positive
usuriouser comparative
usuriousest superlative

Morphology

usurious = usury (transparent) = usury + ous

The adjective is directly formed from 'usury' with a standard adjectival suffix (orthographic y→i change), so the meaning is derivable from the noun.

Etymology

Usurious comes from the Latin word usura, which meant 'use' and gave English usury and the everyday word use. Later this idea became a fee for 'use' of money, that is 'interest'. That's why usurious describes loans that charge very high or unfair rates.