as in wails
a crying out in grief
the loud keens of the widows were heard throughout the war-ravaged city
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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The President reportedly watches hours of cable news every day, and frequently complains about coverage in real time.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
19 Sep. 2025
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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
Verb
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The ugly episode drew howls from those lawmakers in both parties who are calling to tone down the hostilities and focus on legislating, not seeking attention on social media.—
Mike Lillis,
The Hill,
13 Sep. 2025
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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
Noun
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Specifically, in Nabers' case, that injury occurred on what has become a notorious turf surface at MetLife Stadium, which has also claimed other players' seasons to serious injuries, including multiple ACL and Achilles tears.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
2 Oct. 2025
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In August, the manager for Chris Brown surprised Monica with a new Maybach, bringing her to tears.—
Essence,
Essence,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Sobs and screams split the air.—
Milena Malaver,
Miami Herald,
4 Oct. 2025
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Visitors report hearing faint voices and screams when inside the room.—
Paige Moore,
AZCentral.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Even his mistake for Damsgaard’s opener brought more of a stunned silence than exasperated groans or impulsive anger from the locals.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
22 Sep. 2025
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The cheers that accompanied the sixth-inning rally quickly turned to groans in the top of the seventh when struggling Dodgers reliever Michael Kopech walked Jung Hoo-Lee and Bailey to open the inning before striking out Drew Gilbert.—
Mike Digiovanna,
Oc Register,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Fortunately, Amazon heard my cries and slashed prices on its most popular cozy knits ahead of its fall Prime Day extravaganza, which kicks off on Tuesday, October 7.—
Emily Weaver,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
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Their cries could indicate the pack is hurt or in trouble.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 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 6 Oct. 2025.
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