keen
1 Americanadjective
-
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
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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:
Such a fee would break the British transfer record but those at Anfield are keen on striking a deal closer to the £100m mark.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
At his unveiling in Paris, Zidane was keen to highlight the time he had spent waiting on the sidelines and preparing for the job.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
It is understood Savinho is keen to leave during this transfer window, with the machinations towards his potential move to London now under way.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Hull are keen on Leon Bailey but that may have to be an initial loan given the Tigers' own finances, while Evann Guessand can also depart.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
There was a long spell of silence, a big, aching void, and then from the Professor a keen “S-s-s-s!”
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
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
Behind the action a stringed instrument keens in a low register and a piano riff trembles in a gentle minor key.
From Salon ● Jan. 3, 2021
She’s got a beaten-up suitcase at her feet and keens softly into her lap.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 14, 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
It's not hard to imagine which one the family of the time was keener to remember.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 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
John Faa had been supervising the unloading of the ship, and was keen to hear about the witch consul’s words, and even keener to learn of the bear.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
Among the candidates for Fed chairman, Kevin Warsh seems keenest to abandon the current regime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 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
Among the keenest observers of the test flights in Texas is Nasa.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2024
The most exciting auteurs are the keenest readers of plays.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2024
As an academic, Darryl has the keenest memory of what Volpe actually had to say about books.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Amid the nonstop drumbeat of hundreds of feet walking together, bagpipes keened, striking an appropriately dignified tone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2022
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
As the truck made its way across the square, women and children spilled out of their houses, sat down in the dirt, and keened.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 12, 2015
The metal structure keened its mournful note again.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 18, 2013
The children screamed hysterically at the first sight of the needle and their mothers, waiting in the anteroom, threw their shawls over their heads and keened loudly as if wailing for the dead.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Occasionally, Göransson adds a lovely monotone layer of woodwinds or a keening chorus that sounds like the oldest song on Earth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 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
He’s been lauded for sounding like a vestige of another age — his supple, keening tenor the result of years of apprenticeship to the Pakistani artists Ustad Saami and Farida Khanum.
From New York Times ● May 10, 2024
Beyond Hagrid, out in the dark night, Harry saw bursts of light in the distance and heard a weird, keening scream.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
