Cunning vs Keen - What's the difference?
cunning | keen |
Sly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour.
* South
(obsolete) Skillful, artful.
* Bible, Genesis xxv. 27
* Bible, Exodus xxxviii. 23
* Shakespeare
(obsolete) Wrought with, or exibiting, skill or ingenuity; ingenious.
* Spenser
(US, colloquial, rare) Cute, appealing.
(obsolete) Knowledge; learning; special knowledge (sometimes implying occult or magical knowledge).
Practical knowledge or experience; aptitude in performance; skill, proficiency; dexterity.
* 2005 , .
Practical skill employed in a secret or crafty manner; craft; artifice; skillful deceit.
The disposition to employ one's skill in an artful manner; craftiness; guile; artifice; skill of being cunning, sly, conniving, or deceitful.
The natural wit or instincts of an animal.
showing a quick and ardent willingness or responsiveness, enthusiastic, eager; interested, intense.
vehement; fierce; as, a keen appetite.
* (rfdate),
* (rfdate), Shakespeare
sharp; having a fine edge or point.
* (rfdate) :
acute of mind; sharp; penetrating; having or expressing mental acuteness.
* (rfdate),
* (rfdate),
bitter; piercing; acrimonious; cutting; stinging; severe; as, keen satire or sarcasm.
* (rfdate)
piercing; penetrating; cutting; sharp; -- applied to cold, wind, etc,; as, a keen wind; the cold is very keen.
* (rfdate),
Enthusiastic
(US, informal, dated) Marvelous.
(UK) extremely low as to be competitive.
(obsolete) brave, courageous; bold, audacious.
(rare) To sharpen; to make cold.
* (rfdate), Thomson.
To utter a keen.
* (rfdate) Stuart Howard-Jones (1904-1974), Hibernia.'' Collected in ''The New Oxford Book of English Light Verse, 1978.
To utter with a loud wailing voice or wordless cry.
*
To mourn.
*
In obsolete terms the difference between cunning and keen
is that cunning is knowledge; learning; special knowledge (sometimes implying occult or magical knowledge) while keen is brave, courageous; bold, audacious.As a verb keen is
to sharpen; to make cold.cunning
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) cunning, kunning, konnyng, alteration of earlier (etyl) cunninde, kunnende, cunnand, from (etyl) cunnende, present participle of . More at (l), (l).Adjective
(en adjective)- They are resolved to be cunning ; let others run the hazard of being sincere.
- Esau was a cunning hunter.
- a cunning workman
- ''Tis beauty truly blent, whose red and white / Nature's own sweet and cunning hand laid on.
- cunning work
- Over them Arachne high did lift / Her cunning web.
- a cunning little boy
- (Bartlett)
Synonyms
* See alsoEtymology 2
From (etyl) cunning, kunnyng, partially from (etyl) *.Noun
(en noun)- indeed at this very moment he's slipped away with the utmost cunning into a form that's most perplexing to investigate.
- the cunning of the fox or hare
Synonyms
* (l) * (l) * (l)keen
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) . More at (l), (l).Alternative forms
* keene, kene (archaic)Adjective
(er)- Of full keen will.
- So keen and greedy to confound a man.
- That my keen knife see not the wound it makes.
- To make our wits more keen .
- Before the keen inquiry of her thought.
- Good father cardinal, cry thou amen to my keen curses.
- Breasts the keen air, and carols as he goes.
- I'm keen to learn another language.
- I'm keen on learning another language.
- I'm keen on languages.
- I'm keen about learning languages.
- I'm keen for help.
- ''"Do you want to learn another language?" / "I'm keen ."
- I just got this peachy keen new dress.
- keen prices
Usage notes
* Keen is often used in the composition of words, most of which are of obvious signification; as, keen-edged, keen-eyed, keen-sighted, keen-witted, etc.Synonyms
* prompt; eager; ardent; sharp; acute; cutting; penetrating; biting; severe; sarcastic; satirical; piercing; shrewd. * See alsoDerived terms
* keen-witted * keen as mustard * keen on * keenly * keennessVerb
(en verb)- Cold winter keens the brightening flood.
Etymology 2
From (etyl) .Verb
(en verb)- Keen —meaning 'brisk'? Nay, here the Language warps:
'Tis singing bawdy Ballads to a Corpse.