| 释义 |
keenness|ˈkiːnnɪs|
[f. keen a. + -ness.]
The quality of being keen; sharpness, acuteness.
1. Sharpness of edge or point.
1530Palsgr. 235/2 Kenesse, sharpnesse, aspreté. 1697Dryden æneid xii. 143 The God of fire..Immortal keenness on the blade bestowed. 1833J. Holland Manuf. Metal II. 19 A blade..with the greatest keenness of edge.
2. Piercing severity, intensity (of heat, cold, etc.).
1605Drayton Eclogues x. i, The poor herds..Shudder'd with keenness of the winter's cold. 1694Salmon Bates' Dispens. (1713) 509/1 It is good for any Disease proceeding from sharp Humours, because it..asswages them, taking away their Keenness. 1828Scott F.M. Perth xii, Exposed to the keenness of a Scottish blast in February. a1848R. W. Hamilton Rew. & Punishm. viii. (1853) 345 What could soften the keenness of that flame?
3. Intensity of feeling or action; eagerness, incisiveness.
1596Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 125 No mettall can..beare halfe the keennesse Of thy sharpe enuy. 1695J. Edwards Perfect. Script. 424 This..makes him with an unwonted keenness and severity cry out against them. 1723Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 11 Free from severity and keenness, that is ready to mix in with debates of this nature. 1875McLaren Serm. Ser. ii. ii. 199 Youth has mostly a certain keenness of relish for life. 1878Lecky Eng. 18th Cent. II. vii. 417 Abundant evidence of the keenness of the antagonism.
4. Intellectual sharpness; acuteness: shrewdness.
1707Wycherley Pope's Lett. (1735) I. 27 The Keenness of the Mind soonest wears out the Body. 1828Carlyle Misc. (1857) I. 211 In the Poetry of Burns, keenness of insight keeps pace with keenness of feeling. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. viii. II. 407 His meagre and wrinkled..face strongly expressed..the keenness of his parts. 1885Manch. Exam. 4 Feb. 3/5 Severity in selection and..keenness in criticism.
5. Acuteness of the senses or organs of sense.
1859Geo. Eliot A. Bede ii, There was no keenness in the eyes; they seemed rather to be shedding love than making observations. Mod. Their keenness of sight is remarkable. |