Keen

Meaning

Keen means very interested, enthusiastic, or eager to do something. It can also describe someone or something that is sharp, intense, or highly perceptive.

Pronunciation

/kiːn/

Word Forms

• Adjective: keen
• Comparative: keener
• Superlative: keenest
• Adverb: keenly
• Noun: keenness

Synonyms

Antonyms

Common Collocations

• keen to do something — very eager or enthusiastic about doing something.
• keen on something — very interested in or fond of something.
• keen interest — a strong and enthusiastic interest in something.
• keen observer — someone who notices and understands details very carefully.
• keen eye — a strong ability to notice small or important details.
• keen sense — a particularly strong ability to perceive or understand something.

Example Sentences

• She is keen to learn another language.
• He has always been keen on photography.
• The manager has a keen eye for detail.
• She showed a keen interest in the project.
• His keen observation helped solve the mystery.

Literary Example

Example:

“His senses were keen and he could hear the faintest sound.”

— Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles

Here, keen describes senses that are exceptionally sharp and perceptive. The word emphasizes an unusually strong ability to notice or detect things.

Story Workshop

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