English

Alternative forms

• keene, kene (archaic)

Adjective

keen ‎(comparative keener, superlative keenest)

1. showing a quick and ardent willingness or responsiveness, enthusiastic, eager; interested, intense.
2. vehement; fierce

   This boy has a keen appetite.

   • (Can we date this quote?), Piers Plowman

     Of full keen will.

   • (Can we date this quote?), Shakespeare

     So keen and greedy to confound a man.

3. sharp; having a fine edge or point.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5:

     That my keen knife see not the wound it makes.

4. acute of mind; sharp; penetrating; having or expressing mental acuteness.
   • (Can we date this quote?), Shakespeare

     To make our wits more keen.

   • (Can we date this quote?), Cowper

     Before the keen inquiry of her thought.

5. bitter; piercing; acrimonious;

   keen satire or sarcasm

   • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare

     Good father cardinal, cry thou amen to my keen curses.

6. piercing; penetrating; cutting; sharp; -- applied to cold, wind, etc.

   a keen wind

   the cold is very keen

   • (Can we date this quote?), Goldsmith

     Breasts the keen air, and carols as he goes.

7. (Britain, often with "to" + infinitive or with a prepositional phrase) enthusiastic.

   I'm keen to learn another language.

   I'm keen on learning another language.

   I'm keen on languages.

   I'm keen about learning languages.

   I'm keen for help.

   "Do you want to learn another language?" / "I'm keen."

8. (US, informal, dated) marvelous.

   I just got this peachy keen new dress.

   • 1985, Douglas Adams, The Original Hitchhiker Radio Scripts (page 82)

     Well our hosts here attacked us with a fantastic Dismodulating Anti Phase stun ray and then invited us to this amazingly keen meal by way of making it up to us.

9. (Britain) extremely low as to be competitive.

   keen prices

10. (obsolete) brave, courageous; bold, audacious.

Usage notes

• Keen is often used in the composition of words, most of which are of obvious signification, for example keen-edged, keen-eyed, keen-sighted, keen-witted, etc.

Synonyms

• prompt; eager; ardent; sharp; acute; cutting; penetrating; biting; severe; sarcastic; satirical; piercing; shrewd.
• See also Wikisaurus:intelligent

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

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

1. (transitive, rare) To sharpen; to make cold.
   • (Can we date this quote?), Thomson.

     Cold winter keens the brightening flood.

Etymology 2

From Irish caoin ‎(“keen, weep, cry”).

Noun

keen ‎(plural keens)

1. A prolonged wail for a deceased person.
   • 1922, Michael Arlen, chapter 3/5/1, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

     […] she went so swiftly that he could only follow her to the door. The large shape of the car swallowed her up; and the car twisted softly around the little drive and away to the London road. Minutes later he heard its Klaxon, just one sharp keen, like the harsh cry of a sea-bird.

Verb

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

1. (intransitive) To utter a keen.
   • (Can we date this quote?) 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.

2. (transitive) To utter with a loud wailing voice or wordless cry.
   • 2001, Mercedes Lackey, Brightly Burning:

     Satiran, lost in his own grief, shuddered once, then lifted his head to the sky and keened out his loss to the heavens.

3. (transitive) To mourn.
   • 1996, Virginia Brodine, Seed of the fire, page 28:

     I keened my Gran, I keened my babies, but then my words poured out of my grief. I don 't have the full heart like that for Owen, sorry as I am for his goin. Without the heavy grief on me I can maybe think of the words easier

Related terms

• keener
• keeness

Anagrams

• knee

Luxembourgish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /keːn/
  • Rhymes: -eːn

Particle

keen m, n

1. no, not any, not a

Declension

Somali

Verb

keen

1. bring