as in wails
a crying out in grief
the loud keens of the widows were heard throughout the war-ravaged city
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in complains
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely
victims of the disaster have been keening for weeks about the slowness of governmental aid
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for keens
Noun
-
Mitchell has made the point before that every new technology brings wails that the fish won’t survive.—
Mike McFeely,
Twin Cities,
24 Apr. 2026 -
There was grit and grime to his feedback-heavy guitar wails, but there was sweep and grandeur too, more apparent on stage than on record.—
Piet Levy,
jsonline.com,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The narrator in Pseudo-Quintilian’s fiction complains of the unfairness of the bout.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
-
For example, when Jehosheba complains that her Martha slacks off when her dad is out of town, Daisy infers that the Commander made a visit to the Colonies.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Foxes use a variety of calls, including barks, howls, yaps, and growls.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Each dish and recipe howls with a common sense of place.—
Scott Hocker,
TheWeek,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Vince won the case at trial, though Linda was reportedly left in tears when an exchange in court revealed another Vince affair.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Troy Brown was in tears Monday while talking about his son, who died in the shooting.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Nothing screams influence quite like Victoria Beckham wearing her own designs to the Time100 Summit.—
Karla Rodriguez,
Footwear News,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Officer Kyle McLaughlin, patrolling the Upper West Side on his steed Kelly, was alerted by a victim’s screams and immediately galloped into action.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
All these moments are good for audience groans and there’s an enjoyable bad movie here for the seizing — that is when Cronin isn’t steering the action back to Egypt for an underpowered mystery thread involving a one-dimensional Cairo detective (May Calamawy) pursuing the root of the trouble.—
Joshua Rothkopf,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The trailer had plenty of groans, gasps and even a few tears as Knoxville and the crew put their bodies on the line to say goodbye.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Freight House building creaks and moans underfoot, and passing trains produce little more than a subtle hum.—
Nicole Letts,
Southern Living,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Back in the car, Albert moans and groans while Billie shrieks in panic.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
That, of course, and the occasional ghostly presences, unsettling cries, and blood dripping from the ceiling.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Two hikers who heard her cries rushed in and called 911.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
9 Apr. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Keens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keens. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
