KEEN

keen

(adjective) having a sharp cutting edge or point; “a keen blade”

cutting, keen, knifelike, piercing, stabbing, lancinate, lancinating

(adjective) 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”

bully, bang-up, corking, cracking, dandy, great, groovy, keen, neat, nifty, not bad, peachy, slap-up, swell, smashing, old

(adjective) very good; “he did a bully job”; “a neat sports car”; “had a great time at the party”; “you look simply smashing”; “we had a grand old time”

exquisite, keen

(adjective) intense or sharp; “suffered exquisite pain”; “felt exquisite pleasure”

acute, discriminating, incisive, keen, knifelike, penetrating, penetrative, piercing, sharp

(adjective) 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”

keen

(noun) a funeral lament sung with loud wailing

lament, keen

(verb) express grief verbally; “we lamented the death of the child”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Proper noun

Keen (plural Keens)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Keen is the 1959th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 18459 individuals. Keen is most common among White (89.64%) individuals.

Anagrams

• Enke, kene, knee, kène, neek

Etymology 1

Adjective

keen (comparative keener or more keen, superlative keenest or most keen)

(chiefly, Commonwealth) Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness; eager, enthusiastic, interested.

Fierce, intense, vehement.

Having a fine edge or point; sharp.

Acute of mind, having or expressing mental acuteness; penetrating, sharp.

Acrimonious, bitter, piercing.

Of cold, wind, etc.: cutting, penetrating, piercing, sharp.

(Britain) Of prices, extremely low as to be competitive.

(US, informal, dated) Marvelous.

(obsolete) Brave, courageous; audacious, bold.

Usage notes

Keen is often used to create compounds, the meaning of most of them being fairly obvious, for example, keen-edged, keen-eyed, keen-sighted, keen-witted, etc.

Synonyms

• (showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness): ardent, eager, prompt

• (having a fine edge or point): sharp

• (acrimonious): biting, cutting, piercing

• (acute of mind): acute, penetrating, shrewd; see also intelligent

Verb

keen (third-person singular simple present keens, present participle keening, simple past and past participle keened)

(transitive, rare) To make cold, to sharpen.

Etymology 2

Noun

keen (plural keens)

A prolonged wail for a deceased person.

Verb

keen (third-person singular simple present keens, present participle keening, simple past and past participle keened)

(intransitive) To utter a keen.

(transitive) To utter with a loud wailing voice or wordless cry.

(transitive) To mourn.

Anagrams

• Enke, kene, knee, kène, neek

Source: Wiktionary


Keen, a. [Compar. Keener; superl. Keenest.] Etym: [OE. kene sharp, bold, AS.c bold; akin to D. koen, OHG. kuoni, G. kühn, OSw. kyn, kön, Icel. kænn, for koenn wise; perh. akin to E. ken, can to be able.

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.

Keen, v. t.

Definition: To sharpen; to make cold. [R.] Cold winter keens the brightening flood. Thomson.

Keen, n. Etym: [Ir. caoine.]

Definition: A prolonged wail for a deceased person. Cf. Coranach. [Ireland] Froude.

Keen, v. i.

Definition: To wail as a keener does. [Ireland]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 November 2024

THEORETICAL

(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”


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Coffee Trivia

An article published in Harvard Men’s Health Watch in 2012 shows heavy coffee drinkers live longer. The researchers examined data from 400,000 people and found out that men who drank six or more coffee cups per day had a 10% lower death rate.

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