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
-
Her wails of pain were audible on TV broadcasts as medics tended to her before a helicopter finally carried her away.—
Becky Sullivan,
NPR,
6 May 2026 -
Within moments, a smoke detector wails.—
Cyrus Farivar,
ArsTechnica,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
Never says a word, never complains about it, right?—
Anderson Cooper,
CBS News,
17 May 2026
-
Anushka complains about the agreement that asks users to accept 97 pages of terms and conditions in 7-point font, but these guys don’t even see themselves as car manufacturers.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
10 May 2026
Verb
-
In the summer, the temperature is always above 100; in the winter, the wind howls and shakes our townhouse.—
Zinzi Clemmons,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
-
Foxes use a variety of calls, including barks, howls, yaps, and growls.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Korda gasped, covered her mouth, waved to the crowd and wiped away tears.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
-
Just over an hour into opening statements into the vessel homicide and manslaughter trial of George Pino, who crashed his boat into a Biscayne Bay channel marker almost four years ago, killing a teenage girl, the Doral real estate broker broke down in tears.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
Nothing screams summer like a big, boisterous, campy musical.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
12 June 2026
-
Mariska Hargitay screams with excitement when the New York Knicks defeat the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals Game 4 in New York City on June 10.—
Brendan Le,
PEOPLE,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
Still, the night had enough laughs, groans and tender moments to keep things interesting.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
-
Now, at the same time that his stepmother is drawing groans, however, Hunter is winning unexpected praise.—
David A. Graham,
The Atlantic,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
Musselwhite punctuated the music with his harmonica trills and moans while his right knee bounced in time with the rhythms.—
Kevin McKeough,
Chicago Tribune,
7 June 2026
-
As the video continues, one person can be heard yelling her name while the makeup artist moans in pain.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
21 May 2026
Noun
-
Hearing her mothers’ cries, the 11-year-old apparently came to her aid.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
1 June 2026
-
Then, the cries of Ginny’s baby are a major wake-up call for the couple that can’t be ignored.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
28 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Keens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keens. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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