Meaning & use
usurious
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a noundisapprovingfinancelegal
Charging interest on a loan at a rate that is illegal, immoral, or far higher than borrowers can reasonably bear.
Grammar: Usually modifies nouns such as rates, loans, or lenders; it rarely appears after “is” in plain style.
Patterns
- usurious interest rates
- usurious lending
- usurious practices
The court ruled that the contract imposed usurious interest rates.
Community groups protested usurious lending in poor neighborhoods.
Some medieval laws punished usurious practices as a crime.
Common combinations
- usurious interest rates
- The borrower claimed the lender charged usurious interest rates.
- usurious loan
- The judge canceled the usurious loan agreement.
- usurious lender
- Victims described the broker as a usurious lender.
- openly usurious
- The company’s fees were openly usurious and drew regulatory attention.
Synonyms and how they differ
- exorbitant
- Can describe any price or rate that is far too high; “usurious” is limited to lending.
- predatory
- Emphasizes taking advantage of vulnerable people and can describe fees or mortgages as well as interest.
- extortionate
- Strong and general; suggests forcing someone to pay an unfair amount, not only through a loan.
Opposites
Word family
Practice
Choose the best sentence for usurious.
Choose one answer.
Usurious concerns unfair loan charges, and hidden fees in a loan can be called usurious. Length, clothing, and weather are unrelated domains.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “usurious”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.