keenly
keen·ly/ˈkiːnli/adverb
keenly is spelled K-E-E-N-L-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables (keen·ly). It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, keenly means “In a keen manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in keenly?
| Letters | 6: K-E-E-N-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: keen·ly |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,092nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is keenly?
Keenly appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce keenly?
- /ˈkiːnli/
Keenly has 2 syllables, split keen·ly in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-keenly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of keenly
- more keenly comparative
- most keenly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does keenly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a keen manner.
watch something keenly
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does keenly come from?
From Middle English kenely, kenliche, from Old English cēnlīċe (“keenly, boldly, courageously”), equivalent to keen + -ly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian köinlik (“boldly”), archaic German kühnlich (“bravely”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).