keen

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. adj. Having a fine, sharp cutting edge or point.
2. adj. Having or marked by intellectual quickness and acuity. See Synonyms at sharp.
3. adj. Acutely sensitive: a keen ear.
4. adj. Sharp; vivid; strong: "His entire body hungered for keen sensation, something exciting” ( Richard Wright).
5. adj. Intense; piercing: a keen wind.
6. adj. Pungent; acrid: A keen smell of skunk was left behind.
7. adj. Ardent; enthusiastic: a keen chess player.
8. adj. Eagerly desirous: keen on going to Europe in the spring.
9. adj. Slang Great; splendid; fine: What a keen day!
10. n. A loud, wailing lament for the dead.
11. v. To wail in lamentation, especially for the dead. See Synonyms at cry.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. Bold; daring; brave; active: applied to men.
2. Grim; fierce; savage; rapacious: applied to wild animals.
3. Vehement; earnest; eager; ardent; fierce; animated by or showing strong feeling or desire: as, a keen fighter; to be keen at a bargain.
4. Such as to cut or penetrate easily; having a very sharp point or edge; sharp; acute: as, a keen edge.
5. Sharp or irritating to the body or the mind; acutely harsh or painful; biting; stinging; tingling.
6. Having a cutting or incisive character or effect; penetrating; vigorous; energetic; vivid; intense: as, keen eyes; a keen look; a keen rebuke; keen-witted.
7. Having or manifesting great mental acuteness; characterized by great quickness or penetration of thought; sharply perceptive: as, a keen logician or debater; keen insight.
8. To make keen or sharp; sharpen.
9. To chap, as the hands.
10. n. A loud lamentation made over the dead; a wailing.
11. To make a loud lamentation over the dead; lament; wail.
12. To wail over any loss, or in anticipation of loss.
13. n. The angle to which the wire tooth of card-clothing is bent between the foundation material and the point.

Wiktionary

1. n. A prolonged wail for a deceased person.
2. v. intransitive To utter a keen.
3. v. transitive To utter with a loud wailing voice or wordless cry.
4. v. transitive To mourn.
5. adj. showing a quick and ardent willingness or responsiveness, enthusiastic, eager; interested, intense.
6. adj. vehement; fierce; as, a keen appetite.
7. adj. sharp; having a fine edge or point.
8. adj. acute of mind; sharp; penetrating; having or expressing mental acuteness.
9. adj. bitter; piercing; acrimonious; cutting; stinging; severe; as, keen satire or sarcasm.
10. adj. piercing; penetrating; cutting; sharp; -- applied to cold, wind, etc,; as, a keen wind; the cold is very keen.
11. adj. Enthusiastic
12. adj. US, informal, dated Marvelous.
13. adj. UK extremely low as to be competitive.
14. adj. obsolete brave, courageous; bold, audacious.
15. v. transitive, rare To sharpen; to make cold.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. adj. Sharp; having a fine edge or point.
2. adj. Acute of mind; sharp; penetrating; having or expressing mental acuteness
3. adj. Bitter; piercing; acrimonious; cutting; stinging; severe.
4. adj. Piercing; penetrating; cutting; sharp; -- applied to cold, wind, etc.
5. adj. Eager; vehement; fierce.
6. adj. slang Wonderful; delightful; marvelous.
7. v. rare To sharpen; to make cold.
8. n. Ireland A prolonged wail for a deceased person. Cf. coranach.
9. v. Ireland To wail as a keener does.

WordNet 3.0

1. adj. having a sharp cutting edge or point
2. v. express grief verbally
3. adj. painful as if caused by a sharp instrument
4. n. a funeral lament sung with loud wailing
5. adj. very good
6. adj. having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
7. adj. intense or sharp