keening 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of keeningnext
as in wailing

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

keening

2 of 2

verb

present participle of keen
1
as in complaining
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
2
as in howling
to make a long loud mournful sound mourners keening for the victims of the bombing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for keening
  1. complaining
  2. howling
  3. weeping
  4. whining
  5. sentimental
  6. mawkish
Verb
  • The irony of the quintessential real estate expert buying a home in the flight path of an international airport, then complaining about the noise, is not lost on the rest of Palm Beach County.
    Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
  • That first-round pick became Merriman (although, the Giants aren't complaining).
    Ryan Morik, Fox News, 8 Jan. 2025
Definition of complaining
Verb
  • The name Wolf Moon comes from the sound of wolves howling during this season, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.
    Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 27 Dec. 2024
  • This includes destructive behavior such as chewing and destroying furniture as well as things like howling and barking.
    Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of howling
Adjective
  • And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.
    David Mamet, National Review, 11 Aug. 2022
  • The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.
    Helen Shaw, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021
Definition of weeping
Verb
  • The whining about everyone else didn’t help, either.
    Brian Moylan, Vulture, 31 Dec. 2024
  • Stop whining and thank your lucky stars for having a job.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
Definition of whining
Adjective
  • Some 12,000 structures — buildings and cars — have been destroyed so far, and with them many tons of property of all levels of sentimental meaning.
    Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Jan. 2025
  • The paintings are far from sentimental keepsakes and instead often tell stories of similar loss and tragedy experienced by others, including the children depicted, who sometimes died young, or went on to live troubled lives.
    The Editors of ARTnews, ARTnews.com, 15 Jan. 2025
Definition of sentimental
Adjective
  • Co-directed with Jewish Israeli filmmaker Yaron Shani, the movie paints a subtle picture of a society split along fissures religious, political, cultural, and economic, without ever chiding his characters or dipping into mawkish sentimentality.
    Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Sep. 2024
  • And the hints for today’s groups are: Yellow group — leader or main thing Green group — these can be prickly Blue group — mawkish movies, perhaps Purple group — these have a limit, some might say What Are Today’s Connections Groups?
    Kris Holt, Forbes, 15 Sep. 2024
Definition of mawkish
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near keening

keened

keening

keenly

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Cite this Entry

“Keening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keening. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

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Britannica English: Translation of keening for Arabic Speakers

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