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keenness

   Also found in: Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
keen 1  (kn)
adj. keen·er, keen·est
1. Having a fine, sharp cutting edge or point.
2. Having or marked by intellectual quickness and acuity. See Synonyms at sharp.
3. Acutely sensitive: a keen ear.
4. Sharp; vivid; strong: "His entire body hungered for keen sensation, something exciting" (Richard Wright).
5. Intense; piercing: a keen wind.
6. Pungent; acrid: A keen smell of skunk was left behind.
7.
a. Ardent; enthusiastic: a keen chess player.
b. Eagerly desirous: keen on going to Europe in the spring.
8. Slang Great; splendid; fine: What a keen day!

[Middle English kene, from Old English cne, brave.]

keenly adv.
keenness n.

keen 2  (kn)
n.
A loud, wailing lament for the dead.
intr.v. keened, keen·ing, keens
To wail in lamentation, especially for the dead. See Synonyms at cry.

[From Irish Gaelic caoineadh, from caoninim, I lament, from Old Irish caínim, coínim, perhaps of Brittonic origin.]

keener n.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.keennesskeenness - a quick and penetrating intelligence; "he argued with great acuteness"; "I admired the keenness of his mind"
intelligence - the ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience
steel trap - an acute intelligence (an analogy based on the well-known sharpness of steel traps); "he's as sharp as a steel trap"; "a mind like a steel trap"
2.keenness - a positive feeling of wanting to push ahead with something
enthusiasm - a feeling of excitement
ardor, ardour, elan, zeal - a feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause); "they were imbued with a revolutionary ardor"; "he felt a kind of religious zeal"
3.keenness - thinness of edge or fineness of point
acuteness - the quality of having a sharp edge or point
shape, configuration, conformation, contour, form - any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline); "he could barely make out their shapes"

keenness
Translations
keenness [ˈkiːnnɪs] N
1. (= sharpness) [of mind, sense of humour, eyesight] → agudeza f; [of blade] → lo afilado; [of wind] → lo cortante
2. (= intensity) → intensidad f
3. (= enthusiasm) → entusiasmo m
keenness [ˈkiːnnɪs] n (= eagerness) → empressement m
What she lacks in ability she makes up for in keenness → Les compétences qui lui manquent, elle les compense par son empressement.
keenness to do sth → empressement à faire qch
She showed a great keenness to participate → Elle montrait un grand empressement à participer.
keenness
n
(of blade, mind, wind, sight)Schärfe f
(= enthusiasm)Begeisterung f; (of fan, supporter, golfer)Leidenschaftlichkeit f; (of applicant, learner)starkes Interesse; (= hardworking nature)Eifer m; his keenness to go is suspiciousdass er so unbedingt gehen will, ist verdächtig
keenness [ˈkiːnnɪs] n (eagerness) → entusiasmo
keenness [ˈkiːnnɪs] n (eagerness) → entusiasmo


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He bobbed his tail good-naturedly and friendly, and growled ferociously and friendly; but the keenness of the drunkenness of the mate discerned the difference and aroused in him, vaguely, the intuition of difference, of play-acting, of cheating.
But, barring this drawback, I am bound to own that he has stated no more than the truth in representing me as wounded to the heart by Rachel's treatment, and as leaving England in the first keenness of suffering caused by the bitterest disappointment of my life.
In writing it down I feel with only too much keenness the inadequacy of pen and ink --and, above all, my own inadequacy--to express its quality.
 
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