What does KEEN mean?

Definitions for KEEN
kinkeen

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word KEEN.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. keenadjective

    a funeral lament sung with loud wailing

  2. acute, discriminating, incisive, keen, knifelike, penetrating, penetrative, piercing, sharpadjective

    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"

  3. exquisite, keenadjective

    intense or sharp

    "suffered exquisite pain"; "felt exquisite pleasure"

  4. bang-up, bully, corking, cracking, dandy, great, groovy, keen, neat, nifty, not bad(p), peachy, slap-up, swell, smashingadjective

    very good

    "he did a bully job"; "a neat sports car"; "had a great time at the party"; "you look simply smashing"

  5. cutting, keen, knifelike, piercing, stabbing, lancinate, lancinatingadjective

    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"

  6. keenverb

    having a sharp cutting edge or point

    "a keen blade"

  7. lament, keenverb

    express grief verbally

    "we lamented the death of the child"

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Keenadjective

    Etymology: cene, Saxon; kuhn, German; koen, Dutch.

    Come thick night
    That my keen knife see not the wound it makes. William Shakespeare.

    Here is my keen-edged sword,
    Deck’d with fine flower-de-luces on each side. William Shakespeare.

    To me the cries of fighting fields are charms,
    Keen be my sabre, and of proof my arms. Dryden.

    A sword keen-edg’d within his right he held,
    The warlike emblem of the conquer’d field. Dryden.

    The winds
    Blow moist, and keen, shattering the graceful locks
    Of these fair spreading trees; which bids us seek
    Some better shroud. John Milton, Par. Lost, b. x.

    The cold was very supportable; but as it changed to the north-west, or north, it became excessively keen. Henry Ellis.

    Never did I know
    A creature, that did bear the shape of man,
    So keen and greedy to confound a man. William Shakespeare.

    Keen dispatch of real hunger. John Milton.

    The sheep were so keen upon the acrons, that they gobbled up a piece of the coat. Roger L'Estrange.

    Those curs are so extremely hungry, that they are too keen at the sport, and worry their game. Tatler, №. 62.

    This was a prospect so very inviting, that it could not be easily withstood by any who have so keen an appetite for wealth. Jonathan Swift, Miscel.

    Good father cardinal, cry thou, amen,
    To my keen curses. William Shakespeare, King John.

    I have known some of these absent officers as keen against Ireland, as if they had never been indebted to her. Jonathan Swift.

  2. To Keenverb

    To sharpen. An unauthorised word.

    Etymology: from the adjective.

    Nor when cold Winter keens the brightening flood,
    Wou’d I weak shivering linger on the brink. James Thomson.

ChatGPT

  1. keen

    Keen is an adjective that generally means having or showing a sharp/strong interest, enthusiasm, or intensity. It can also refer to having a sharp edge or point or a highly developed sense, such as a keen intelligence or a keen sense of smell.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Keen

    sharp; having a fine edge or point; as, a keen razor, or a razor with a keen edge

  2. Keen

    acute of mind; sharp; penetrating; having or expressing mental acuteness; as, a man of keen understanding; a keen look; keen features

  3. Keen

    bitter; piercing; acrimonious; cutting; stinging; severe; as, keen satire or sarcasm

  4. Keen

    piercing; penetrating; cutting; sharp; -- applied to cold, wind, etc, ; as, a keen wind; the cold is very keen

  5. Keen

    eager; vehement; fierce; as, a keen appetite

  6. Keenverb

    to sharpen; to make cold

  7. Keennoun

    a prolonged wail for a deceased person. Cf. Coranach

  8. Keenverb

    to wail as a keener does

  9. Etymology: [Ir. caoine.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Keen

    kēn, adj. eager: sharp, having a fine edge: piercing: acute of mind: penetrating: intense.—adv. Keen′ly.—n. Keen′ness. [A.S. céne; Ger. kühn, bold; Ice. kænn, wise. Cog. with ken and can.]

  2. Keen

    kēn, n. a lamentation over the dead.—v.i. to wail over the dead.—n. Keen′er, a professional mourner. [Ir. caoine.]

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. keen

    Sharp; having a fine cutting edge; as, a keen blade.

Suggested Resources

  1. keen

    Song lyrics by keen -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by keen on the Lyrics.com website.

  2. KEEN

    What does KEEN stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the KEEN acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. KEEN

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Keen is ranked #1959 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Keen surname appeared 18,459 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 would have the surname Keen.

    89.6% or 16,547 total occurrences were White.
    4.7% or 868 total occurrences were Black.
    2.1% or 401 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.6% or 306 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    1.2% or 222 total occurrences were Asian.
    0.6% or 116 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'KEEN' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2940

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'KEEN' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1852

  3. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'KEEN' in Adjectives Frequency: #355

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce KEEN?

How to say KEEN in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of KEEN in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of KEEN in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of KEEN in a Sentence

  1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

    I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight. I breathed a song into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For, who has sight so keen and strong That it can follow the flight of song? Long, long afterward, in an oak I found the arrow, still unbroken; And the song, from beginning to end, I found again in the heart of a friend.

  2. Aaron Clarey:

    So do yourself and all men across the world a favor. Not only REFUSE to see the movie, but spread the word to as many men as possible. Not all of them have the keen eye we do here at (Return of Kings.) And most will be taken in by fire tornadoes and explosions. Because if they sheepishly attend and Fury Road is a blockbuster, then you, me, and all the other men (and real women) in the world will never be able to see a real action movie ever again that doesn't contain some damn political lecture or moray about feminism, SJW-ing, and socialism.

  3. Sophie LaMontagne:

    We grew up in Canada. We were born and raised there, and we grew up, you know, watching Princess Diana. We've always had a keen interest in the royal family every since we were little girls.

  4. Selahattin Demirtas:

    We accept that the Armenian genocide is a reality wholeheartedly. We also accept the Kurdish responsibility in it.. If you(AKP) is so keen on embracing all the legacy of Ottoman Empire go on and embrace this as a reality. (On the question of his opinions about 1915 events of Armenian mass killings in Ottoman Empire)

  5. Camilla Beech:

    We are keen to help countries worldwide evaluate this technology for potential use, including in the EU, and Oxitec would be happy to work with the UK Government to achieve these goals.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

KEEN#1#9217#10000

Translations for KEEN

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"KEEN." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/KEEN>.

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