usurious

[ yoo-zhoor-ee-uhs ]

/ yuˈʒʊər i əs /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR usurious ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

practicing usury; charging illegal or exorbitant rates of interest for the use of money: a usurious moneylender.

constituting or characterized by usury: usurious rates of interest; a usurious loan.

Origin of usurious

First recorded in 1600–10; usury + -ous

OTHER WORDS FROM usurious

u·su·ri·ous·ly, adverbu·su·ri·ous·ness, nounnon·u·su·ri·ous, adjectivenon·u·su·ri·ous·ly, adverb

non·u·su·ri·ous·ness, nounun·u·su·ri·ous, adjectiveun·u·su·ri·ous·ly, adverbun·u·su·ri·ous·ness, noun

Words nearby usurious

usufruct, usufructuary, Usumacinta, Usumbura, usurer, usurious, usurp, usurpation, usurper, usury, U.S.V.

Example sentences from the Web for usurious

Merkley, as it happens, is from Delaware, where the banks holding this usurious debt are located.
Obama's Impossibly Complex Win|Eric Alterman|May 21, 2010|DAILY BEAST
When it came to Haiti, France was first a brutal colonizer, and then a usurious bully.
Why Haiti's Earthquake Is France's Problem|Tunku Varadarajan|January 14, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Again, it is charged, or rather insinuated, that officers of the Bank have loaned money at usurious rates of interest.
The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Volume One|Abraham Lincoln
But, for this advance of kindness, it usually exacts a most usurious return in the end.
Early Reviews of English Poets|John Louis Haney

Thus he draws from capital which he does not possess, usurious interest, out of all proportion with the capital he actually owns.
Socialism|John Stuart Mill
This was charged up against him to be paid for later at usurious interest.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Vol. 13|Elbert Hubbard
Along the walls hung a score of mediocre portraits, the handiwork of the usurious limner John Watson and his compatriot Hessilius.
The ghosts of their ancestors|Weymer Jay Mills