keening 1 of 2

adjective

as in wailing

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keening

2 of 2

verb

present participle of keen
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in howling
to make a long loud mournful sound mourners keening for the victims of the bombing

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of keening
Adjective
Languid piano tunes give way to surging, keening tides of strings. — Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026 Speaking of God, the pedal steel is capable of exaltation, too, the rise and fall of its strings able to emulate a glorious choir or a keening request or spread out like the cosmos itself. — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 20 July 2026 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
  1. wailing
  2. complaining
  3. howling
  4. crying
  5. screaming
  6. weeping
  7. whining
  8. sentimental
Adjective
  • 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.
    — Joseph Ataman, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Definition of wailing
Verb
  • Videos on social media published last week showed empty markets in Tehran and Karaj, with sellers complaining that their fresh produce is not being bought.
    — Leila Gharagozlou, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The same folks who are complaining about the current mess in college athletics are the same ones who are inviting the chaos through their front door.
    — Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of complaining
Verb
  • Trapped in their castle by a howling rainstorm, our minifig royalty takes in a bevy of drenched animals.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 21 Aug. 2026
  • But be prepared for long mountain views, longer mountain hikes, camping under the northern lights and singing along with howling wolves.
    — Ron Spomer, Outdoor Life, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of howling
Adjective
  • Some in the pro-crying camp pointed to articles and headlines as proof.
    — Jon Sarlin, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
Definition of crying
Verb
  • That screaming maximum seems like something from a motor world made increasingly distant by turbochargers, hybrid systems and electric motors.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Imagine for a minute a Trojans defense with Luke Wafle, the nation’s top prospect in 2026, screaming off the edge a la the Bosa Bros at Ohio State.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of screaming
Adjective
  • And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.
    — David Mamet, National Review, 11 Aug. 2022
  • The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.
    — Helen Shaw, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021
Definition of weeping
Verb
  • The state compared Atrium to a soccer team whining about the referees.
    — Bob Herman, STAT, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The epic whining heard across MLB over the Tarik Skubal acquisition is evidence Andrew Friedman and Dodgers management are a masterclass in demonstrating creative leadership to cultivate a winning ballclub.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of whining
Adjective
  • Houston could soar within it because Parton imbued it with a musical and sentimental purity that made room for the enormity of her expressiveness.
    — Ann Powers, NPR, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Ditsy floral quilt toppers add a sentimental anchor to bedrooms, while vintage pieces threaded throughout the rest of the property have been lovingly sourced by the experts at New York’s The Somerset House.
    — Dipal Acharya, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of sentimental

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keened
keening
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Cite this Entry

“Keening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keening. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.

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