keen

1 able to sense slight impressions or differences pilots with especially keen eyesight Synonyms delicate, fine, acute, perceptive, quick, sensitive, sharpRelated Words accurate, clear, discerning, good, piercing, precise, receptive, sensible, subtle; hair-trigger, hyperacute, hypersensitive, oversensitive, supersensitiveNear Antonyms bad, deadened, dimmed, dull, dulled, fading; dead, imperceptive, insensible, insensitive, numb; imprecise, inaccurate

2 causing intense discomfort to one's skin the keen wind gave me chapped lips Synonyms biting, bitter, cutting, penetrating, piercing, raw, sharp, shrewd, smarting, stingingRelated Words brisk, invigorating, nippy, snappy; needlelike, prickly, tingling; caustic, corrosiveNear Antonyms balmy, gentle, mild, soothing

3 having an edge thin enough to cut or pierce something lanced the boil with a keen scalpel Synonyms cutting, edged, edgy, ground, honed, sharp, sharpened, stropped, trenchant, whettedRelated Words clawlike, daggerlike, knifelike; jabbing, jagged, lacerating, piercing, scratching, stabbing; pointed, pointy, spiky (also spikey)Near Antonyms rounded, smooth; soft; even, flat, level, slickAntonyms blunt, blunted, dull, dulled, obtuse

4 having or showing quickness of mind readers who were keen enough to realize that the writer was being satirical Synonyms alert, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, exceptional, fast, hyperintelligent, intelligent, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp, sharp-witted, smart, supersmart, ultrasmartRelated Words apt, ingenious, resourceful; acute, astute, discerning, heady, insightful, knowing, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sapient, savvy, wise; cerebral, erudite, genial, highbrow, knowledgeable, learned, literate, scholarly, well-read; educated, informed, schooled, skilled, trained; creative, inventive, judicious, prudent, sage, sane, sapient, sensible, sound, wise; crafty, cunning, foxy, shrewd, wily; logical, rational, reasonableNear Antonyms feebleminded, simpleminded; boobish, foolish, half-baked, idiotic (also idiotical), imbecile (or imbecilic), moronic, silly; ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, nonintellectual, unacademic, uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, untaught, unthinking; absurd, asinine, balmy, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, featherheaded, fool, half-baked, harebrained, insane, kooky (also kookie), loony (also looney), lunatic, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, tomfool, unwise, wacky (also whacky), zanyAntonyms airheaded, birdbrained, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey (also dopy), dorky [slang], dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, gormless [chiefly British], half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain (or lamebrained), lunkheaded, mindless, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, senseless, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, stupid, thick, thickheaded, thick-witted, unbrilliant, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded, witless

5 of the very best kind that new digital camera sure is keen Synonyms A-OK, A1, awesome, bang-up, banner, beautiful, blue-chip, blue-ribbon, boffo, bonny (also bonnie) [chiefly British], boss [slang], brag, brave, bully, bumper, capital, choice, classic, cool [slang], corking, crackerjack, cracking, dandy, divine, dope [slang], down [slang], dynamite, fab, fabulous, famous, fantabulous [slang], fantastic, fine, first-class, first-rate, first-string, five-star, four-star, frontline, gangbusters (also gangbuster), gilt-edged (or gilt-edge), gone [slang], grand, great, groovy, heavenly, high-class, hot, hype [slang], immense, jim-dandy, excellent, lovely, marvelous (or marvellous), mean, neat, nifty, noble, number one (also No. 1), numero uno, out-of-sight [slang], par excellence, peachy, peachy keen, phat [slang], prime, primo [slang], prize, prizewinning, quality, radical [slang], righteous [slang], sensational, slick, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-flight, top-notch, top-of-the-line, topping [chiefly British], top-shelf, unsurpassed, wizard [chiefly British], wonderfulRelated Words acceptable, adequate, all right, decent, good, OK (or okay), passable, satisfactory, tolerable; better, exceptional, fancy, high-grade, high-test, premium, select, special, superfine; classical, standard, traditionalNear Antonyms bad, inferior, low-grade, substandard, unsatisfactory; mediocre, middling, second-class, second-rateAntonyms atrocious, awful, execrable, lousy, pathetic, poor, rotten, terrible, vile, wretched

6 showing urgent desire or interest a keen hunger for fame and fortune in the fashion industry Synonyms agog, antsy, anxious, ardent, athirst, avid, crazy, desirous, enthused, enthusiastic, excited, geeked [slang], great, greedy, gung ho, hepped up, hopped-up, hot, hungry, impatient, juiced, eager, nuts, pumped, raring, solicitous, stoked [slang], thirsty, voracious, wildRelated Words engaged, interested; happy, hung up, obsessed; ambitious, appetent, covetous, craving, hankering, longing, pining; breathless, restive, restless; amenable, disposed, game, glad, inclined, ready, unreluctant, willingNear Antonyms casual, incurious, insouciant, nonchalant, unconcerned, uninterested; aloof, detached, disinterested; impassive, stolid; halfhearted, lackadaisical, languid, languorous, lukewarm, spiritless; averse, disinclined, hesitant, loath (also loth or loathe), reluctant, unwillingAntonyms apathetic, indifferent, uneager, unenthusiastic

7 extreme in degree, power, or effect movies gave him keen enjoyment like nothing else Synonyms acute, almighty, blistering, deep, dreadful, excruciating, explosive, exquisite, fearful, fearsome, ferocious, fierce, frightful, furious, ghastly, hard, heavy, heavy-duty, hellacious, intensive, intense, profound, terrible, vehement, vicious, violentRelated Words accentuated, aggravated, concentrated, deepened; emphasized, enhanced, heightened, intensified, magnified; stressed; exhaustive, thorough; harsh, rigorous, severeNear Antonyms feeble, weak; shallow, superficial; moderated, qualified; alleviated, eased, lightened, toned (down); abated, decreased, diminished, lessened, reduced, subduedAntonyms light, moderate, soft