keen English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) . More at (l), (l).
Alternative forms
* keene, kene (archaic)
Adjective
( er)
showing a quick and ardent willingness or responsiveness, enthusiastic, eager; interested, intense.
vehement; fierce; as, a keen appetite.
* (rfdate),
- Of full keen will.
* (rfdate), Shakespeare
- So keen and greedy to confound a man.
sharp; having a fine edge or point.
* (rfdate) :
- That my keen knife see not the wound it makes.
acute of mind; sharp; penetrating; having or expressing mental acuteness.
* (rfdate),
- To make our wits more keen .
* (rfdate),
- Before the keen inquiry of her thought.
bitter; piercing; acrimonious; cutting; stinging; severe; as, keen satire or sarcasm.
* (rfdate)
- Good father cardinal, cry thou amen to my keen curses.
piercing; penetrating; cutting; sharp; -- applied to cold, wind, etc,; as, a keen wind; the cold is very keen.
* (rfdate),
- Breasts the keen air, and carols as he goes.
Enthusiastic
- 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 ."
(US, informal, dated) Marvelous.
- I just got this peachy keen new dress.
(UK) extremely low as to be competitive.
- keen prices
(obsolete) brave, courageous; bold, audacious.
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 also
Derived terms
* keen-witted
* keen as mustard
* keen on
* keenly
* keenness
Verb
( en verb)
(rare) To sharpen; to make cold.
* (rfdate), Thomson.
- Cold winter keens the brightening flood.
Etymology 2
From (etyl) .
Noun
( en noun)
A prolonged wail for a deceased person.
* '>citation
Verb
( en verb)
To utter a keen.
* (rfdate) Stuart Howard-Jones (1904-1974), Hibernia.'' Collected in ''The New Oxford Book of English Light Verse, 1978.
- Keen —meaning 'brisk'? Nay, here the Language warps:
'Tis singing bawdy Ballads to a Corpse.
To utter with a loud wailing voice or wordless cry.
*
To mourn.
*
Related terms
* keener
* keeness
Anagrams
*
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involved English
Adjective
( en adjective)
Complicated.
- He related an involved story about every ancestor since 1895.
* 1915 ,
- Miss Price told him a long, involved story, which made out that Mrs. Otter, a humdrum and respectable little person, had scabrous intrigues.
Associated with others, be a participant or make someone be a participant (in a crime, process, etc.)
- He was involved in the project for three years.
- He got involved in a bar fight.
- When the family wrapped up my father's will, no one tried to make me feel involved .
Having an affair with someone.
Verb
( head)
(involve)
- The explanation involved potatoes, squirrels, and race cars.
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