keen
keen Lexical Profile
keen Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Having or showing eagerness, enthusiasm, or strong interest in something.
"The students are keen to begin their summer research internships."
Highly developed, perceptive, or sensitive (of a person's senses, intellect, or understanding).
"Dogs possess a keen sense of smell that makes them invaluable in search-and-rescue operations."
Sharp or penetrating, especially of a blade's cutting edge or of cold wind and weather.
"A keen north wind swept across the open moor as evening fell."
Intense or fiercely competitive (of rivalry, competition, or prices).
"There is keen competition among local bakeries for the annual festival prize."
• verb
To wail in grief for a dead person, or to make an eerie, high-pitched wailing sound.
"The mourners keened softly beside the graveside, their voices blending with the wind."
• noun
Irish A wailing lament for the dead.
"A low, mournful keen rose from the cottage as the funeral procession approached."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Keen' represents two unrelated homonyms: the everyday adjective meaning eager or sharp (of Germanic origin) and the literary verb/noun meaning to wail in grief for the dead (from Irish 'caoineadh').
• Rhymes for keen
Word Origin & Etymology
The adjective derives from Old English 'cēne' ('bold, brave, clever, sharp'), from Proto-Germanic *kōniz. The noun and verb meaning 'to wail in lamentation' are an 18th-century borrowing from Irish 'caoineadh' ('lament').