as in wailing
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1
as in complaining
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely
victims of the disaster have been keening for weeks about the slowness of governmental aid
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of keening
Dan Piepenbring,
New Yorker,
4 Feb. 2026
This sequence, with its onstage vengeance, despair and keening dialogue, and its offstage look at how Kikuo’s triumph affects the two people closest to him, is one of the most powerful in the movie.
—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Oct. 2025
But Dunne’s voice, lilting and keening, is rich with empathy.
—
Joseph Hudak,
Rolling Stone,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
The memoir shows little interest in the gambler’s psychology or the keening dramas of the floor.
—
Dan Piepenbring,
New Yorker,
4 Feb. 2026
This sequence, with its onstage vengeance, despair and keening dialogue, and its offstage look at how Kikuo’s triumph affects the two people closest to him, is one of the most powerful in the movie.
—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Oct. 2025
But Dunne’s voice, lilting and keening, is rich with empathy.
—
Joseph Hudak,
Rolling Stone,
5 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for keening
Adjective
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Sitting opposite an old people’s home in a residential corner of Paris’ 14th arrondissement, La Santé’s unassuming presence is only given away by the occasional wailing siren as prisoners are transported to and from the site.
Verb
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But John Healey stepped down as defense secretary this month after complaining that Starmer was not moving fast enough to meet the target.
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Still, some users are complaining online.
Verb
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Gary ad-libbed to the sound of howling winds and ominous metal scraping.
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With a pummelling rhythm and howling guitar, the new song from fata morgana makes a desperate race against the doom loop.
Adjective
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But his crying scene in Ford v Ferrari is one for the ages.
Verb
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The couple’s relationship began with a friendship bracelet and a podcast shout-out in July 2023, and by September Swift was screaming profanities in support of her new favorite football player.
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As Rayan began screaming, al-Ajeen, whose family has long farmed in the area, picked up his son and began walking again.
Adjective
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And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.
Verb
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Stop whining and complaining, people.
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Well, certainly a lot of whining about technology.
Adjective
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Throughout the night, sentimental videos from different chapters of Jackson's career played on the screens by the stage, along with messages from stars not in attendance like country singers Keith Urban, Zac Brown and Kenny Chesney as well as NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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The series combines potty-mouthed put-downs with more sentimental story lines.
Cite this Entry
“Keening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keening. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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