keen
adjective · verb · noun
Simple meaning
Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
keenIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkin
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
chiefly commonwealth
Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness; eager, enthusiastic, interested.
Having a fine edge or point; sharp.
Acute of mind, having or expressing mental acuteness; penetrating, sharp.
Of cold, wind, etc.: cutting, penetrating, piercing, sharp.
Fierce, intense, vehement.
Acrimonious, bitter, piercing.
verb
transitive
To utter with a loud wailing voice or wordless cry.
transitive
To mourn.
intransitive
To utter a keen.
noun
A prolonged wail for a deceased person.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness; eager, enthusiastic, interested.
Used this way, keen is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It carries warmth, so it reads as personal rather than detached.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Keen and enthusiastic
- Usage feel
- Warm and expressive
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use keen
- “She has a keen interest in learning about history.”
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: often with a prepositional phrase
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.