Meaning & use
usurer
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Meaning
nouncountabledisapprovingformal
A person who lends money and demands unfair, excessive, or illegal interest.
Grammar: A countable noun with plural usurers; usually modified by words showing blame.
Patterns
- a ruthless usurer
- lend money like a usurer
- condemn a usurer
- the usurer demands repayment
The play presents the moneylender as a usurer who traps families in debt.
A usurer may hide fees so the real interest rate is far higher than promised.
The court punished the usurer for charging illegal rates to desperate borrowers.
Word forms
| plural | usurers |
|---|
Common combinations
- ruthless usurer
- The novel describes a ruthless usurer who takes land when debts are unpaid.
- charge usurious interest
- The contract was canceled because it charged usurious interest.
- victim of a usurer
- The farmer became a victim of a usurer after one bad harvest.
Synonyms and how they differ
- loan shark
- Loan shark is modern and usually illegal, informal, and violent; usurer sounds older, moral, or legal.
- moneylender
- Moneylender is neutral and may be legal; usurer accuses the lender of exploiting borrowers.
- extortionist
- Extortionist is broader and means forcing payment by threats, not only by lending at high interest.
Word family
Commonly confused: usurer or user? usurer or usury?
usurer vs user
User means a person who uses something; usurer is a lender who exploits borrowers.
usurer vs usury
Usury is the practice; usurer is the person who does it.
Practice
Which word best fills the blank? The judge said the lender acted like a ____ by adding hidden charges.
Choose one answer.
A usurer is a lender who charges unfair or illegal interest, matching hidden charges. Borrower, customer, and saver do not lend money.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “usurer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.