usurious

[ yoo-zhoor-ee-uhs ]

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

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 | THE 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 | THE DAILY BEAST
The young girl's father entrusted M. Cruchot with his usurious dealings and probably with all his money matters.
Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z | Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
In the later middle ages, especially in Germany, it acquired the sense of usurious or oppressive dealing with money and capital.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 3 | Various
The Jews were wealthy, and did no small harm by their usurious practices.
The English Church in the Middle Ages | William Hunt

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
Our post-office orders are issued at usurious rates, and within limited hours.
The Mapleson Memoirs, vol II | James H. Mapleson

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