keenly
Variant of keen
keen
definition
keen (kēn)
adjective
- having a sharp edge or point; that can cut well a keen knife, a keen edge
- sharp or cutting in force; piercing a keen appetite, a keen wind
- sharp and quick in seeing, hearing, thinking, etc.; acute keen eyes, a keen intelligence
- sharp-witted; mentally acute; shrewd
- eager; enthusiastic; much interested: often with about, on, etc.
- strongly felt or perceived; intense; strong keen desire, a keen scent
- ☆ Slang good, fine, etc.: a generalized term of approval
Etymology: ME kene < OE cene, wise, learned, akin to Ger kühn, bold < IE base *ĝen-, to know: the principal senses spring from the basic notion “capable”
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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