Keen
[kiːn] or [kin]
Definition
(noun.) a funeral lament sung with loud wailing.
(adj.) having a sharp cutting edge or point; 'a keen blade' .
Inputed by Bruno--From WordNet
Definition
(superl.) Sharp; having a fine edge or point; as, a keen razor, or a razor with a keen edge.
(superl.) Acute of mind; sharp; penetrating; having or expressing mental acuteness; as, a man of keen understanding; a keen look; keen features.
(superl.) Bitter; piercing; acrimonious; cutting; stinging; severe; as, keen satire or sarcasm.
(superl.) Piercing; penetrating; cutting; sharp; -- applied to cold, wind, etc, ; as, a keen wind; the cold is very keen.
(superl.) Eager; vehement; fierce; as, a keen appetite.
(v. t.) To sharpen; to make cold.
(n.) A prolonged wail for a deceased person. Cf. Coranach.
(v. i.) To wail as a keener does.
Checked by Joseph
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Eager, zealous, ardent, earnest, fervid, vehement.[2]. Sharp, acute, with a fine edge.[3]. Piercing, penetrating, cutting.[4]. Severe, bitter, poignant, acrimonious, caustic.[5]. Shrewd, discerning, quick, sagacious, astute, keen-sighted, keen-eyed, clear-sighted, long-headed.
Inputed by Alphonso
Definition
adj. eager: sharp having a fine edge: piercing: acute of mind: penetrating: intense.—adv. Keen′ly.—n. Keen′ness.
n. a lamentation over the dead.—v.i. to wail over the dead.—n. Keen′er a professional mourner.
Inputed by Dustin
Examples
- No; Justinian is too keen a judge of character to mistake our Greek goose for a swan. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- We feed him once a day, and not too much then, so that he is always as keen as mustard. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- A quick blush passed over her fresh young face as Holmes shot one of his keen, questioning glances at her. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- It woke a certain keen, half contemptuous pity, tenderness for him: she was so ruthless. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Crispin glanced at Maurice significantly, and Justinian caught the look with his accustomed keen-sightedness. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- Helstone came in marching nimbly and erect, looking browner, keener, and livelier than usual. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I think Henrique, now, has a keener sense of the beauty of truth, from seeing lying and deception the universal badge of slavery. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- The Arab was informed and the Jew sharpened to a keener edge. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Yes, the greateSt. And is there any greater or keener pleasure than that of sensual love? Plato. The Republic.
- But suddenly I was aware of that which his keener senses had already distinguished. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Holmes walked slowly round and examined each and all of them with the keenest interest. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- These problems have received the attention of the keenest inventors and electrical engineers and have been solved. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- He greeted Carthoris and Tars Tarkas with the keenest delight, but he asked neither where he had been. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- They were at once the deepest puzzle, the strongest obstruction, and the keenest stimulus, I had ever felt. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Fixed there by the keenest of all anguish, self-reproach, she could find no interval of ease or forgetfulness. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- The wind shifts to the weSt. Peace, peace, Banshee--keening at every window! Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
Inputed by Errol