# keen

Pronunciation: say "KEEN" US /kin/, UK /kiːn/

## Adjective

1. Showing quick and eager willingness or interest, often directed toward an activity or goal. *(Commonwealth)*
   - Simple: Very interested in something and wanting to do it.
   - _Investors were keen to back the project once the figures were released._
   - _He has always been a keen gardener, up at dawn among the flower beds._
2. Showing quick, sharp understanding; mentally acute and penetrating in perception or judgment.
   - Simple: Quick to notice and understand things, and very sharp and smart.
   - _The detective brought a keen intelligence to every case she handled._
   - _A keen observer, he noticed the slight tremor in the witness's voice._
3. Fierce, intense, and forceful in degree.
   - Simple: Very strong, fierce, and intense.
   - _The two bakeries on Main Street have been in keen competition for years._
   - _There was keen disappointment among the fans after the narrow loss._
4. Having a fine, sharp cutting edge or point.
   - Simple: Having a very sharp edge or point.
   - _The barber stropped the razor until its edge was perfectly keen._
   - _Only a keen chisel will leave such clean lines in the oak._
5. Of cold, wind and the like, cutting, piercing and sharply felt.
   - Simple: So cold and sharp that it stings, used about wind or weather.
   - _A keen northeasterly cut through their coats as they crossed the moor._
   - _The air turned keen the moment the sun dropped behind the ridge._
8. Bitter, cutting, and sharply acrimonious in tone or feeling.
   - Simple: Sharp and bitter, used about words or a tone.
   - _Her letter carried a keen reproach that he never quite forgot._
   - _His keen sarcasm at the meeting left several coworkers quietly furious._
10. Of prices or rates: set low enough to be strongly competitive. *(British)*
   - Simple: Of a price, very low and good for the buyer.
   - _The supermarket advertised keen prices to draw shoppers from its rivals._
   - _Their quote was so keen that the council awarded them the contract._

## Noun

6. A prolonged wailing cry of grief for a dead person.
   - Simple: A long, loud cry of sadness for someone who has died.
   - _A single keen broke the silence as the procession reached the graveside._
   - _The keen of the gathered mourners filled the small cottage._

## Verb

7. To wail loudly and at length in grief for a dead person, or to utter such a wailing cry.
   - Simple: To cry out loudly and for a long time because someone has died.
   - _The women would keen at the graveside until their voices gave out._
   - _She keened softly by the hearth as neighbors filed in to pay respects._

## Adjective

9. Excellent or wonderful; very good. *(dated, US)*
   - Simple: Really great or wonderful.
   - _Gee, what a keen car you've got parked out front!_
   - _The kids thought the new soda fountain downtown was just keen._
12. Brave and courageous; bold and audacious in the face of danger. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Brave and bold, and not afraid to take risks.

## Verb

11. To make something cold, or to give it a fine, sharp edge. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To make something cold, or to give it a sharp edge.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–5, 8–12** — Old English cēne could mean keen, fierce, bold or brave, and also clever or wise. It became Middle English kene ("bold, brave, sharp") and goes back to Proto-Germanic *kōniz ("knowledgeable, skillful, clever") and finally to the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵneh₃-, "to know." German kühn ("bold, daring") is related, as are the English words cunning and can.
**Meanings 6–7** — From Irish, meaning "to lament, keen."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/keen (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).