Translations

6 languages
Українська
By meaning 3
sharp-edged:
acute of mind:
of cold, wind, etc.: cutting, penetrating:
Русский
By meaning 4
showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness:
fierce, intense, vehement:
sharp-edged:
of cold, wind, etc.: cutting, penetrating:
Deutsch
By meaning 5
showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness:
fierce, intense, vehement:
acute of mind:
acrimonious, bitter, piercing:
of cold, wind, etc.: cutting, penetrating:

Examples

120 sentences

  1. My brother is keen on collecting stamps.

    Моєму брату подобається збирати марки. — deniko

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  2. The kid has a keen sense of hearing.

    deDas Kind hat einen scharfen Gehörsinn. — xtofu80

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  3. Those children are keen on skating.

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Meaning

9 senses

  1. Having a fine edge or point; sharp.

    scharf

    острыйostryj

    гострийhostryj

    having a sharp cutting edge or point

  2. Fierce, intense, vehement.

    This boy has a keen appetite.

    ungestüm, vehement, heftig

    си́льныйsílʹnyj, ре́зкийrézkij, интенси́вныйintensívnyj

  3. (Commonwealth)Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness; eager, enthusiastic, interested.

    I’m keen on computers.

    I’m keen on you.

    scharf, kühn)daring, verwegen (temerarious)

    проница́тельныйpronicátelʹnyj, сообрази́тельныйsoobrazítelʹnyj

More meanings 6

  1. (usually)Cutting, penetrating, piercing, sharp.

    a keen wind

    the cold is very keen

    schneidend

    прони́зывающийpronízyvajuščij, ре́зкийrézkij

    пронизливийpronyzlyvyj

  2. Acute of mind, having or expressing mental acuteness; penetrating, sharp.

    scharfsinnig

    проникливийpronyklyvyj

  3. Acrimonious, bitter, piercing.

    keen satire or sarcasm

    bitter, scharfzüngig, spitz

  4. (UK)Of prices, extremely low as to be competitive.

  5. (US, dated, informal)Marvelous.

    I just got this peachy keen new dress.

  6. (obsolete)Brave, courageous; audacious, bold.

Origin

From Middle English kene (“bold, brave, sharp”), from Old English cēne (“keen, fierce, bol

From Middle English kene (“bold, brave, sharp”), from Old English cēne (“keen, fierce, bold, brave, warlike, powerful; learned, clever, wise”), from Proto-Germanic *kōniz (“knowledgeable, skilful, experienced, clever, capable”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”).

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

keener/more keen, keenest/most keen
Comparativekeener / more keen Lesson
Superlativekeenest / most keen Lesson

regular

Synonyms

59 synonyms
Having a fine edge or point:sharpB1
Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an…:eagerB1promptB2ardenthot on
Acute of mind, having or expressing mental acuteness:acuteB2brightA1brilliantA2cleverA1educatedB2geniusB2giftedB1ingeniousC1intellectualB2intelligentA2knowledgeableC1quickA2rationalB1smartA1
Acrimonious, bitter, piercing:bitingcuttingpiercing
Close in meaning

Word family

7 related words
Relatedkeenness
Derivedkeenlykeen onkeen-wittedoverkeenpeachy keenunkeen

Lessons for this word

3 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
kebabkeelkeenlykeepA1keeperB2

Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.

keen — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto