Keen
WordNet
adjective
(1) Having a sharp cutting edge or point
"A keen blade"
(2) As physically 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"
(3) Very good
"He did a bully job"
"A neat sports car"
"Had a great time at the party"
"You look simply smashing"
(4) Intense or sharp
"Suffered exquisite pain"
"Felt exquisite pleasure"
(5) 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"
noun
(6) A funeral lament sung with loud wailing
verb
(7) Express grief verbally
"We lamented the death of the child"
WiktionaryText
Adjective
- 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.
- 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.
- bitter; piercing; acrimonious; cutting; stinging; severe; as, keen satire or sarcasm.
- "Good father cardinal, cry thou amen to my keen curses." -Shak.
- 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.
- eager; vehement; fierce; as, a keen appetite.
- "Of full keen will." -Piers Plowman.
- "So keen and greedy to confound a man." -Shak.
- enthusiastic
- "I'm keen to learn another language."
Synonyms
- prompt; eager; ardent; sharp; acute; cutting; penetrating; biting; severe; sarcastic; satirical; piercing; shrewd.
- See also Wikisaurus:intelligent
Usage notes
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.
Verb
- To sharpen; to make cold.
- "Cold winter keens the brightening flood." -Thomson.
Verb
- To utter a keen.
- Stuart Howard-Jones (1904-1974), Hibernia. Collected in The New Oxford Book of English Light Verse, 1978.
- Keen—meaning 'brisk'? Nay, here the Language warps:
'Tis singing bawdy Ballads to a Corpse.
- Keen—meaning 'brisk'? Nay, here the Language warps:
- Stuart Howard-Jones (1904-1974), Hibernia. Collected in The New Oxford Book of English Light Verse, 1978.