keen

[ keen ]

/ kin /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR keen ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, keen·er, keen·est.

finely sharpened, as an edge; so shaped as to cut or pierce substances readily: a keen razor.

sharp, piercing, or biting: a keen wind; keen satire.

characterized by strength and distinctness of perception; extremely sensitive or responsive: keen eyes; keen ears.

having or showing great mental penetration or acumen: keen reasoning; a keen mind.

animated by or showing strong feeling or desire: keen competition.

intense, as feeling or desire: keen ambition; keen jealousy.

eager; interested; enthusiastic (often followed by about, on, etc., or an infinitive): She is really keen on going swimming.

Slang. great; wonderful; marvelous.

Origin of keen

before 900; 1930–35 for def 8; Middle English kene, Old English cēne; cognate with German kühn, Old High German chuoni bold, Old Norse kœnn wise, skillful

SYNONYMS FOR keen

1, 4 See sharp.

2 cutting, bitter, caustic.

3 piercing, penetrating, acute.

4 discerning, acute, astute, sagacious, shrewd, clever.

5 See avid.

7 earnest, fervid.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR keen ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR keen

1, 3, 4 dull.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR keen ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM keen

keen·ly, adverb keen·ness, noun

Words nearby keen

keelie, keeling islands, keelless, keelson, keelung, keen, keen about, be, keene, keene's cement, keener, keening

Example sentences from the Web for keenly

Hildebrand was keenly aware of the grievous failures of Christians under Nazism.

The Catholic Philosopher Who Took on Hitler |John Henry Crosby |December 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
This has made us keenly aware of the pain of being demonized simply for our faith.

Stop the Anti-Semitism When Talking Gaza |Dean Obeidallah |August 7, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
But as we are all keenly aware, fate had far different plans.

Do Palestinians Really Exist? |Dean Obeidallah |July 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I am keenly aware that such a view might be perceived by some as having a good dose of paranoia of my own.

Even After Hobby Lobby, the Religious Right is Still Terrified |Gene Robinson |July 6, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

The Kennan Diaries contains many other keenly observed descriptions of people, places, and events.

The Man Who Knew Russia Best: George Kennan’s Revealing Diaries |James A. Warren |March 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Her eyes were bright, and all her sympathies were as keenly alive as they had been fifty years before.

Gabriel Tolliver |Joel Chandler Harris
Durant looked at Campbell keenly, but he showed neither surprise nor indifference.

The Mark of the Knife |Clayton H. Ernst
His stubbled red face, dust-smeared, queried us keenly; so did his curt voice.

Desert Dust |Edwin L. Sabin
As a matter of fact, what Cowperwood had keenly suspected was literally true.

The Financier |Theodore Dreiser
It was because he felt parting with Peter so keenly that Gourlay behaved more sullenly than usual.

The House with the Green Shutters |George Douglas Brown

British Dictionary definitions for keenly (1 of 2)

keen ¹

/ (kiːn) /

adjective

eager or enthusiastic

(postpositive foll by on) fond (of); devoted (to) keen on a girl; keen on golf

intellectually acute a keen wit

(of sight, smell, hearing, etc) capable of recognizing fine distinctions

having a sharp cutting edge or point

extremely cold and penetrating a keen wind

intense or strong a keen desire

mainly British extremely low so as to be competitive keen prices

slang, mainly US and Canadian very good

Derived forms of keen

keenly, adverb keenness, noun

Word Origin for keen

Old English cēne; related to Old High German kuoni brave, Old Norse koenn wise; see can 1, know

British Dictionary definitions for keenly (2 of 2)

keen ²

/ (kiːn) /

verb (intr)

to lament the dead

noun

a dirge or lament for the dead

Derived forms of keen

keener, noun

Word Origin for keen

C19: from Irish Gaelic caoine, from Old Irish coīnim I wail

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

keen

adjective, keen·er, keen·est.

Origin of keen

SYNONYMS FOR keen

ANTONYMS FOR keen

OTHER WORDS FROM keen

Words nearby keen

Example sentences from the Web for keenly

British Dictionary definitions for keenly (1 of 2)

adjective

Derived forms of keen

Word Origin for keen

British Dictionary definitions for keenly (2 of 2)

verb (intr)

noun

Derived forms of keen

Word Origin for keen

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

keen

adjective, keen·er, keen·est.

Origin of keen

SYNONYMS FOR keen

ANTONYMS FOR keen

OTHER WORDS FROM keen

Words nearby keen

Words related to keenly

Example sentences from the Web for keenly

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for keenly (1 of 2)

adjective

Derived forms of keen

Word Origin for keen

British Dictionary definitions for keenly (2 of 2)

verb (intr)

noun

Derived forms of keen

Word Origin for keen

British Dictionary definitions for keenly (1 of 2)