HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
adj. keen·er, keen·est 1. Having a fine, sharp cutting edge or point. 2. Having or marked by intellectual quickness and acuity. See Synonyms at sharp. 3. Acutely sensitive: a keen ear. 4. Sharp; vivid; strong: "His entire body hungered for keen sensation, something exciting" (Richard Wright). 5. Intense or bracing: a keen wind. 6. Pungent; acrid: A keen smell of skunk was left behind. 7. a. Ardent; enthusiastic: a keen chess player. b. Eagerly desirous: keen on going to Europe in the spring. 8. Slang Great; splendid; fine: What a keen day! [Middle English kene, from Old English cēne, brave.] keenly adv. keenness n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
n. A loud wailing or lament for the dead. intr.v. keened, keen·ing, keens To wail in lamentation, especially for the dead. See Synonyms at cry. [From Irish Gaelic caoineadh, from caonim, I lament, from Old Irish caínim, coínim, perhaps of Brittonic origin.] keener n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
