keening noun 2adjective 1forms 1 noun2 •Intense mournful wailing after a death, often at a funeral or wake.Keening. I remember keening that seemed to go on all through the night: shrill, sharp, shiny, needles of sound piercing cleanly and deeply to let the anguish in, not out. — 1988 •An unpleasant wailing sound. adjective1 •Sharp, shrill, especially of a sound.The keening sound of a dentist's drill sets my teeth on edge. formskeenings
