Adjacent Words

Keen definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

KEEN, a.
1. Eager; vehement; as hungry curs too keen at the sport.
The sheep were so keen on the acorns--
2. Eager; sharp; as a keen appetite.
3. Sharp; having a very fine edge; as a keen razor, or a razor with a keen edge. We say a keen edge, but a sharp point.
4. Piercing; penetrating; severe; applied to cold or to wind; as a keen wind; the cold is very keen.
5. Bitter; piercing; acrimonious; as keen satire or sarcasm.
Good father cardinal, cry thou amen,
To my keen curses.
KEEN, v.t. To sharpen. [Unusual.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions; "an acute observer of politics and politicians"; "incisive comments"; "icy knifelike reasoning"; "as sharp and incisive as the stroke of a fang"; "penetrating insight"; "frequent penetrative observations" [syn: acute, discriminating, incisive, keen, knifelike, penetrating, penetrative, piercing, sharp]
2: intense or sharp; "suffered exquisite pain"; "felt exquisite pleasure" [syn: exquisite, keen]
3: very good; "he did a bully job"; "a neat sports car"; "had a great time at the party"; "you look simply smashing" [syn: bang-up, bully, corking, cracking, dandy, great, groovy, keen, neat, nifty, not bad, peachy, slap-up, swell, smashing]
4: painful as if caused by a sharp instrument; "a cutting wind"; "keen winds"; "knifelike cold"; "piercing knifelike pains"; "piercing cold"; "piercing criticism"; "a stabbing pain"; "lancinating pain" [syn: cutting, keen, knifelike, piercing, stabbing, lancinate, lancinating]
5: having a sharp cutting edge or point; "a keen blade" n
1: a funeral lament sung with loud wailing v
1: express grief verbally; "we lamented the death of the child" [syn: lament, keen]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English kene brave, sharp, from Old English c?ne brave; akin to Old High German kuoni brave Date: 13th century 1. a. having a fine edge or point ; sharp b. affecting one as if by cutting <keen sarcasm> c. pungent to the sense <a keen scent> 2. a. (1) showing a quick and ardent responsiveness ; enthusiastic <a keen swimmer> (2) eager <was keen to begin> b. of emotion or feeling intense <the keen delight in the chase — F. W. Maitland> 3. a. intellectually alert ; having or characteristic of a quick penetrating mind <a keen student> <a keen awareness of the problem>; also shrewdly astute b. sharply contested <keen debate> c. extremely sensitive in perception <keen eyes> 4. wonderful, excellent Synonyms: see sharp, eager • keenly adverb • keenness noun II. noun Date: 1830 a lamentation for the dead uttered in a loud wailing voice or sometimes in a wordless cry III. verb Etymology: Irish caoinim I lament, weep Date: 1845 intransitive verb 1. a. to lament with a keen b. to make a sound suggestive of a keen 2. to lament, mourn, or complain loudly transitive verb to utter by keening • keener noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. adj. 1 (of a person, desire, or interest) eager, ardent (a keen sportsman). 2 (foll. by on) much attracted by; fond of or enthusiastic about. 3 (of the senses) sharp; highly sensitive. 4 intellectually acute. 5 a having a sharp edge or point. b (of an edge etc.) sharp. 6 (of a sound, light, etc.) penetrating, vivid, strong. 7 (of a wind, frost, etc.) piercingly cold. 8 (of a pain etc.) acute, bitter. 9 Brit. (of a price) competitive. 10 colloq. excellent. Derivatives: keenly adv. keenness n. Etymology: OE cene f. Gmc 2. n. & v. --n. an Irish funeral song accompanied with wailing. --v. 1 intr. utter the keen. 2 tr. bewail (a person) in this way. 3 tr. utter in a wailing tone. Derivatives: keener n. Etymology: Ir. caoine f. caoinim wail

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Keen Keen (k[=e]n), a. [Compar. Keener (-[~e]r); superl. Keenest.] [OE. kene sharp, bold, AS. c[=e]ne bold; akin to D. koen, OHG. kuoni, G. k["u]hn, OSw. kyn, k["o]n, Icel. k[ae]nn, for k[oe]nn wise; perh. akin to E. ken, can to be able. [root]45. ] 1. Sharp; having a fine edge or point; as, a keen razor, or a razor with a keen edge. A bow he bare and arwes [arrows] bright and kene. --Chaucer. That my keen knife see not the wound it makes. --Shak. 2. Acute of mind; sharp; penetrating; having or expressing mental acuteness; as, a man of keen understanding; a keen look; keen features. To make our wits more keen. --Shak. Before the keen inquiry of her thought. --Cowper. 3. Bitter; piercing; acrimonious; cutting; stinging; severe; as, keen satire or sarcasm. Good father cardinal, cry thou amen To my keen curses. --Shak. 4. Piercing; penetrating; cutting; sharp; -- applied to cold, wind, etc,; as, a keen wind; the cold is very keen. Breasts the keen air, and carols as he goes. --Goldsmith. 5. Eager; vehement; fierce; as, a keen appetite. ``Of full kene will.'' --Piers Plowman. So keen and greedy to confound a man. --Shak. Note: Keen is often used in the composition of words, most of which are of obvious signification; as, keen-edged, keen-eyed, keen-sighted, keen-witted, etc. Syn: Prompt; eager; ardent; sharp; acute; cutting; penetrating; biting; severe; sarcastic; satirical; piercing; shrewd.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Keen Keen, v. t. To sharpen; to make cold. [R.] Cold winter keens the brightening flood. --Thomson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Keen Keen, n. [Ir. caoine.] A prolonged wail for a deceased person. Cf. Coranach. [Ireland] --Froude.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Keen Keen, v. i. To wail as a keener does. [Ireland]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(keener, keenest) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you are keen on doing something, you very much want to do it. If you are keen that something should happen, you very much want it to happen. (mainly BRIT) You're not keen on going, are you?... I'm very keen that the European Union should be as open as possible to trade from Russia... She's still keen to keep in touch... I am not keen for her to have a bicycle. ADJ: v-link ADJ, ADJ on -ing/n, ADJ that, ADJ to-inf • keenness ...Doyle's keenness to please. ...a keenness for the idea of a co-ordinated approach to development. = enthusiasm N-UNCOUNT: oft N to-inf 2. If you are keen on something, you like it a lot and are very enthusiastic about it. (mainly BRIT) I got quite keen on the idea... ADJ: v-link ADJ on n • keenness ...his keenness for the arts. 3. You use keen to indicate that someone has a lot of enthusiasm for a particular activity and spends a lot of time doing it. She was a keen amateur photographer. ADJ: ADJ n, v-link ADJ on n/-ing 4. If you describe someone as keen, you mean that they have an enthusiastic nature and are interested in everything that they do. He's a very keen student and works very hard... = enthusiastic ADJ • keenness ...the keenness of the students. N-UNCOUNT 5. A keen interest or emotion is one that is very intense. He had retained a keen interest in the progress of the work. ADJ: usu ADJ n • keenly She remained keenly interested in international affairs... This is a keenly awaited project. ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v 6. If you are a keen supporter of a cause, movement, or idea, you support it enthusiastically. He's been a keen supporter of the Labour Party all his life... ADJ: ADJ n 7. If you say that someone has a keen mind, you mean that they are very clever and aware of what is happening around them. They described him as a man of keen intellect... ADJ: ADJ n • keenly They're keenly aware that whatever they decide will set a precedent. ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v 8. If you have a keen eye or ear, you are able to notice things that are difficult to detect. ...an amateur artist with a keen eye for detail... = sharp ADJ: usu ADJ n • keenly Charles listened keenly. ADV: ADV with v 9. A keen fight or competition is one in which the competitors are all trying very hard to win, and it is not easy to predict who will win. There is expected to be a keen fight in the local elections. ADJ • keenly The contest should be very keenly fought. ADV 10. Keen prices are low and competitive. (mainly BRIT) The company negotiates very keen prices with their suppliers. ADJ • keenly The shops also offer a keenly priced curtain-making service. ADV: ADV -ed 11. If you say that someone is mad keen on something, you are emphasizing that they are very enthusiastic about it. (BRIT INFORMAL) So you're not mad keen on science then?... PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR n [emphasis]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Eager, zealous, ardent, earnest, fervid, vehement. 2. Sharp, acute, with a fine edge. 3. Piercing, penetrating, cutting. 4. Severe, bitter, poignant, acrimonious, caustic. 5. Shrewd, discerning, quick, sagacious, astute, keen-sighted, keen-eyed, clear-sighted, long-headed.

Moby Thesaurus

Attic, OK, Siberian, ablaze, absorbing, ace-high, acerb, acerbate, acerbic, acid, acidic, acidulent, acidulous, acrid, acrimonious, active, acute, adroit, afire, aggressive, agile, agog, alacritous, alert, algid, alive, all agog, animate, animated, anxious, apt, arctic, ardent, argute, asperous, astringent, astute, athirst, attentive, avid, awake, bad, bang-up, bark, bawl, bellow, below zero, bemoan, bewail, biting, bitter, bitterly cold, blare, blat, bleak, blubber, boiling over, bonzer, boom, boreal, boss, brainy, bray, breathe, breathless, bright, brilliant, brisk, brumal, buggy, bugs, bully, burning, bursting to, but good, buzz, cackle, canny, cant, caterwaul, caustic, chant, chirp, clever, cold, cold as charity, cold as death, cold as ice, cold as marble, coo, cool, cordial, corking, coronach, corroding, corrosive, crackerjack, crafty, creak, creaky, crisp, crow, cry, cunning, cutting, dandy, dead march, death knell, death song, deep, deep-felt, deepgoing, delicious, delirious, deplore, desirous, detailed, devoted, devoted to, dexterous, dirge, discerning, discriminating, discriminative, distinct, distressful, distressing, divine, dolorous tirade, double-edged, drastic, drawl, droll, drunk, ducky, dynamic, eager, ear-piercing, earnest, edged, elegize, elegy, enamored of, energetic, enterprising, enthusiastic, epicedium, escharotic, eulogy, excessive, excited, exclaim, excruciating, exorbitant, exquisite, extravagant, extreme, exuberant, fab, facetious, featheredged, febrile, fervent, fervid, fevered, feverish, fierce, fiery, fine, fine and dandy, fired, flaming, flushed, flute, fond of, forceful, forcible, forward, freezing, freezing cold, frigid, full of life, full of pep, funeral march, funeral oration, funeral song, funny, furious, gasp, gay, gear, gelid, gifted, give sorrow words, glacial, glorious, glowing, go-go, graveside oration, great, grieve, grievous, groan, groovy, growl, grunt, gung ho, harsh, heartfelt, hearty, heated, heavy, hibernal, hiemal, hiss, homefelt, hot, howl, howling, humorous, humorsome, hunky-dory, hyperborean, ice-cold, ice-encrusted, icelike, icy, immoderate, impassioned, impatient, impetuous, incisive, inclement, indelible, intelligent, intemperate, intense, intoxicated, irritating, itching, jam-up, jeremiad, jesting, jocose, jocular, joking, joky, joshing, just dandy, keen-edged, keen-witted, keening, kinetic, knell, knifelike, lament, lamentation, lilt, lively, living, lusty, marvy, mean, mettlesome, moan, monody, mordacious, mordant, mourn, muffled drums, mumble, murmur, mutter, neat, nifty, nimble, nimble-witted, nipping, nippy, no dumbbell, nobby, nose-tickling, not born yesterday, numbing, nutty, okay, on fire, on the, on the alert, on the ball, on the job, out of sight, outcry, outrageous, painful, pant, panting, passing bell, passionate, peachy, peachy-keen, penetrating, peppy, perceptive, percipient, perfervid, perspicacious, pervading, piercing, pinching, pipe, piping, piquant, plaint, planctus, poignant, pointed, profound, prompt, pungent, qui vive, quick, quick-thinking, quick-witted, rapier-like, raring to, raw, razor-edged, ready, ready and willing, red-hot, reedy, repine, requiem, rigorous, ripping, roar, robust, rough, rum, rumble, salt, salty, sarcastic, sardonic, scathing, scintillating, scorching, screak, screaky, scream, screech, screeching, screechy, scrumptious, searing, sensitive, set, severe, sharp, sharp-sighted, sharp-witted, sharpened, shrewd, shriek, shrieking, shrieky, shrill, sibilate, sigh, sing, sing the blues, skirl, skreigh, slap-up, sleepless, sleety, slushy, smacking, smart, smashing, snap, snappy, snarl, snort, sob, solid, something else, sorrow, sough, sour, spanking, sparkling, specific, spiffing, spiffy, spirited, splitting, sprightly, squall, squawk, squeak, squeaking, squeaky, squeal, stabbing, steaming, steamy, steel-trap, stinging, stone-cold, strenuous, strident, stringent, strong, stunning, subzero, supercooled, swell, take-charge, take-over, talented, tart, thin, thirsty, threnode, threnody, thunder, tirade, tough, trenchant, trumpet, twang, two-edged, ululant, ululate, ululation, unblinking, unconscionable, unmistakable, unmistaken, unnodding, unrestrained, unsleeping, unwinking, vehement, venomous, vibrant, vigorous, violent, virulent, vital, vitriolic, vivacious, vivid, wail, wail of woe, wailing, wakeful, warble, warm, weep, weep over, whimper, whimsical, whine, whining, whisper, whistle, whistling, wide-awake, winterbound, winterlike, wintery, wintry, wise, withering, witty, wizard, wrawl, yammer, yap, yawp, yell, yelp, yowl, zealous, zestful, zesty, zippy