Etymology
Origin of keening
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gilgamesh’s lament is not the stylized keening of epic tradition—not Achilles’ highfalutin howls after Hector strikes down Patroclus—but something rawer, humbler, more recognizably human.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
As such, there's little to compare with the straightforward joy of Watermelon Sugar, or the keening desire of As It Was - but Styles isn't stupid enough to alienate his fanbase entirely.
From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026
Shift to Sport mode and the engine will hold at a high, keening rpm, trying to charge the battery faster than the driver can drain it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 25, 2025
But later, in a videotaped hospital reunion with her parents in which she was blocked from view, the young woman’s audible sobs turned to wild, wordless keening.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 29, 2023
The Squallers lifted their arms, and the wind wailed a high, keening cry.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
