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
-
The ear-splitting wails came from a little girl trying to get the star’s attention.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
3 Dec. 2025 -
People judge others for the precise pitch of their wails.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
At one point, Hujar complains about a call from the artist Ed Baynard.—
Michael Schulman,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
-
The president calls his wife and complains about the sole of his shoe before heading off to a girls’ basketball event with Angel Reese.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Held in May of last year, the dinner saw walkouts and howls of dissent as Ari Emanuel tore into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over what the super-agent saw as an overkill response to the October 7 attacks.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Wind howls as one of the daughters' body rocks on a gurney, her family lighting candles as a rabbi screams scripture with water crashing in a nearby tub.—
Michael Lee Simpson,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Christopher Patterson's mother held back tears as his family and friends gathered on Friday outside the home where the 23-year-old lost his life two days before.—
Jermont Terry,
CBS News,
10 Jan. 2026
-
Narrated by Colm Feore and James Hyndman in the English and French versions of the movie, respectively, the 17-minute stop-motion short follows a poor young boy who discovers a girl whose tears, evoked by a sad home life, turn into pristine pearls.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Left to die, breathless and alone, Invisigal chokes while Robert screams from the other end of the comms.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
7 Nov. 2025
-
That stretch screams points, and the wise move might be to start planning your route to Salah.—
Abdul Rehman,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The room responded with playful groans.—
Haley Kluge,
Variety,
7 Nov. 2025
-
More than one person fell victim to wayward gourds that careened down Midland Road to the cheers and groans of an eager audience.—
Daniel McFadin,
Arkansas Online,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Shannon moans right about the time Jenn walks out to see what the commotion is all about.—
Peter Larsen,
Oc Register,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
There’s going to be a lot of oohs and aahs and cries and laughs and love.—
Kirsten Chuba,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Women from the village, who were down washing clothes in the river, heard the cries and rallied the community to help, Dumasá said.—
Daniel Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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 11 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share