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
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Her wails make Davina recall her own confinement, where she was treated similarly awfully and responded by cursing the women in the room.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
5 Sep. 2025 -
An ambulance siren wails past, coming up from the river.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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There has been a consistent pattern with Florida football where a group of Gators fans complains about the current head coach, sportswriters mock them for having unrealistic expectations, and then those fans turn out to be totally correct.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
10 Sep. 2025
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Roman complains about pain in his feet, and Dennis offers him a foot massage.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The screams, the reason everyone assembles, when the screams come, after a few collective inhales and exhales and a moment to gather one’s thoughts, the screams come like long guttural howls.—
Christopher Borrelli,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
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Foxes use a variety of calls, including barks, howls, yaps, and growls.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Click the video below to see a sweet brotherly reunion filled with the kind of hug that comes with happy tears and pure joy.—
Ronnie Li,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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This test evaluates the quantity and quality of your tears to diagnose dry eye syndrome.—
Lindsay Curtis,
Health,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Rather than let his boy be torn apart by terrible creatures in the mist, David uses a gun to mercy-kill them all and screams in anguish because there isn't a bullet left for him.—
James Grebey,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
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Mom screams like a rabid animal.—
Dr. Sue Varma,
CNBC,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The request drew audible groans and shouts from other members.—
Anna Commander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
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The tightly wound tension is maintained also by Volker Bertelmann’s propulsive score, which starts with ominous juddering groans and keeps shapeshifting throughout.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The dog's cries pierced people's hearts, and as of Thursday, the TikTok video reached over 278,000 views and 40,300 likes.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
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All of the killings happened within 7 miles across two grazing allotments, and range riders and shepherds reported hearing wolf cries in the area on several occasions.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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What can be dizzying about the collection is the way traditional themes of Yiddish song and Hebrew liturgy — lyrics of resilience in the face of persecution, prayers of consolation for the brokenhearted, Lamentations read on Tisha B’Av — are recast with the Palestinians as their protagonists.—
Andrew Silow-Carroll,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Aug. 2025
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An artwork from the series Wall of Lamentations by Santiago Montoya that was on view in March at Halcyon Gallery, in London.—
Harper’s Magazine,
Harpers Magazine,
16 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Keens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keens. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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