keen
1 Americanadjective
-
keener,
comparative
-
keenest
superlative
-
finely sharpened, as an edge; so shaped as to cut or pierce substances readily.
a keen razor.
- Antonyms:
- dull
-
sharp, piercing, or biting.
a keen wind;
keen satire.
-
characterized by strength and distinctness of perception; extremely sensitive or responsive.
keen eyes;
keen ears.
- Synonyms:
- acute, penetrating, piercing
-
having or showing great mental penetration or acumen.
keen reasoning;
a keen mind.
-
animated by or showing strong feeling or desire.
keen competition.
-
intense, as feeling or desire.
keen ambition;
keen jealousy.
-
eager; interested; enthusiastic; (often followed by about, on, etc., or an infinitive).
She is really keen on going swimming.
noun
-
keens
plural
verb (used without object)
-
keens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
keened,
past participle, past
-
keening
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
keens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
keened,
past participle, past
-
keening
present participle
adjective
-
eager or enthusiastic
-
fond (of); devoted (to)
keen on a girl
keen on golf
-
intellectually acute
a keen wit
-
(of sight, smell, hearing, etc) capable of recognizing fine distinctions
-
having a sharp cutting edge or point
-
extremely cold and penetrating
a keen wind
-
intense or strong
a keen desire
-
extremely low so as to be competitive
keen prices
-
slang very good
verb
noun
Usage
What does keen mean? Keen commonly means eager, interested, or enthusiastic. This sense of the word is often followed by about or on and the particular interest, as in He’s very keen on music. More generally, keen means sharp, intense, or strong. It can be used to mean sharp in a literal way, as in a keen blade. It can also be used in several figurative ways. A keen sense of smell is one that’s very strong and perceptive. A keen intellect is one that’s sharp in the sense of being mentally strong. A keen desire is an intense one. A keen satire and a keen wind are both piercing and biting—they both sting. The word keen can also be used as a slang term meaning wonderful or splendid, and this is how it’s used in the phrase peachy keen, which is used as an informal and playful way to describe something as excellent or wonderful. Example: He showed keen jealousy over my keen knife.
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
keensimple
-
keenssimple
-
have keenedperfect
-
has keenedperfect
-
am keeningprogressive
-
are keeningprogressive
-
is keeningprogressive
-
have been keeningperfect progressive
-
has been keeningperfect progressive
Past
-
keenedsimple
-
had keenedperfect
-
was keeningprogressive
-
were keeningprogressive
-
had been keeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of keen1
First recorded before 900; 1930–35 keen 1 for def. 8; Middle English kene, Old English cēne; cognate with German kühn, Old High German chuoni “bold,” Old Norse kœnn “wise, skillful”
Origin of keen2
First recorded in 1780–90 for the verb; from Irish caoin-, stem of caoinim “(I) lament”; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
If you have a keen interest in something, you are really, really into it. Keen is an adjective that describes something that is intense, sharp, or focused. The word keen comes from the Old English word cene that translates to "bold and brave" and while the spelling is now really different, the sounds are similar. Variations of keen as being "bold" and "strong" show up in other languages, but only English has the meaning of "sharp" — relating to "an edge or blade." Keen has a lot of close — and brutal — synonyms, such as caustic, cutting, piercing, and penetrating. It can also be used as a verb to mean "express grief or pain out loud."
Vocabulary lists containing keen
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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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.
See Examples For:
"We were keen to find people who wouldn't usually come into the industry and give them exposure," he says.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
DOJ officials also learned that Boris Epshteyn, Trump’s private legal coordinator, had taken a keen interest in resolving the case, according to people familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Root could have been keen to show he is the one with the power once again.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
“The investor base that we’ve met—we’ve met dozens—has been really keen on entering and participating in the prediction markets,” said Pascal Bandelier, co-chief executive and global head of equities at Cantor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Penelope had always had a keen liking for poetry.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Dr Caulfield said she was "delighted” to see Róis “proudly performing her keens to full houses, with no shame or stigmatisation involved, just audiences loving her bravery and skill".
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025
Benjamin Wallfisch’s score keens and groans ominously, sometimes dipping into synthy electronic moments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2024
She’s got a beaten-up suitcase at her feet and keens softly into her lap.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 14, 2019
He has too much of his father in him, the forlorn trumpet of John Williams’ score keens.
From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2019
A sound I didn’t know I could make keens out of me.
From "Ghost Boys" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Dior designer Jonathan Anderson appeared keener than most to take some risks.
From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026
The magic is unique and often biological—many characters have mental or physical enhancements that give them perfect memory or keener senses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
What they were keener to talk about was life in Henderson, a city they’d lived in and loved for a long time now—including for the MMA connection.
From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2024
Maybe he now possesses a keener understanding of Martha.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2024
Nicholas did not believe him, and his skepticism made Makgatho even keener to prove it was true.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
But niche pleasures, for those who partake in them, are often the keenest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
Not surprisingly, those countries keenest to see it deployed quickly - including Poland and Finland- are those geographically closest to Russia.
From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2025
For our money, Jim is both the funniest and keenest politics writer in the United States—which is to say, readers, your long national nightmare is over!
From Slate ● Aug. 30, 2025
For five years it hosted the country's finest and keenest skateboarders, witnessing flips and tricks as a new subculture boomed in popularity.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2025
Father Olufemi would have picked the strongest, fastest, and keenest warriors for such a mission, and they’d prove their worth once in the jungle.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
But whether the wind produced a lion’s roar, or merely keened or whistled or hummed, at its peak it was clocked by the National Weather Service at Reagan National Airport at 29 mph.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 29, 2020
Well, the souls howled and keened, as distressed souls are known to do, since they understood that a garden that nobody visited was not worth cultivating.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 22, 2019
While the violin lines of “Where Are U Now” keened behind him, his face was slick with sweat.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2015
The metal structure keened its mournful note again.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 18, 2013
But the way they keened their beaks forward and menacingly opened their wings made them look as though they might.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
The keening chorus is anchored by Roger Troutman, who enjoyed a series of 1980s hits with sprays of talk-box-warped vocals, while the blasting beat was produced by Dr. Dre, the chief architect of G-funk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
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
When I set out to write this, I admit, I meant it to be as rueful as Earl’s keening deathbed monologue about “the goddamn regret.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
The tone of his voice is high, a keening sound.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2024
She put her palms over her mouth as if that was all that would hold back the horrible, groaning, moaning, keening sound flooding out of her.
From "A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness
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.
