hearken

verb

heark·​en ˈhär-kən How to pronounce hearken (audio)
variants or harken
hearkened or harkened; hearkening ˈhärk-niŋ How to pronounce hearken (audio)
ˈhär-kə-
or harkening

intransitive verb

1
: listen
hearkened without much mental commentTheodore Dreiser
2
: to give respectful attention
the humble folk who hearkened to these evangelistsG. M. Stephenson
3
: to bring to mind something in the past : hearken back
Portrayals of dinosaurs with lizard-like tongues hearken to early interpretations of the beasts as oversized lizards.Mindy Weisberger

transitive verb

archaic : to give heed to : hear

Examples of hearken in a Sentence

hearken! I hear the distant beat of the hooves of many horses
Recent Examples on the Web Indeed, his brand of country hearkens to the early 1970s, when country music and rock music mingled freely and no one paid much mind. Preston Jones, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Jan. 2024 The concept hearkens to a different era on Madison Avenue when a really intriguing creative idea often held sway over consumer data, and digital marketing was unheard of. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 1 Feb. 2024 During a hearing Thursday, Carter posed provocative questions to the attorneys and, at one point, hearkened to a time when the VA had thousands of veterans living there. Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2023 But then in seeming defiance of the chilly reputation often enjoyed by December, the mercury hearkened to a higher calling. Martin Weil, Washington Post, 16 Dec. 2023 Both are housed in red-brick buildings that hearken to a time when anthropology was a fledgling academic discipline. Mary Hudetz, ProPublica, 4 Dec. 2023 In 680, Hussein had hearkened to the call of Muslims in the garrison town of Kufa, a few miles east of Najaf. Aatish Taseer, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023 The Baroque-like painting hearkens to a time where animals were sacrificed for clothing and accessories. Olivia Deng, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Sep. 2023 The arrangements feature musicians as well as several producers like Solo Otto and Jay Versace and hearken to Robert Glasper’s jazz/neo-soul fusions. Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 23 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hearken.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English herknen, from Old English heorcnian; akin to Old High German hōrechen to listen, Old English hīeran to hear

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hearken was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near hearken

Cite this Entry

“Hearken.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hearken. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hearken

verb
hear·​ken
ˈhär-kən
hearkened; hearkening
ˈhärk-(ə-)niŋ

More from Merriam-Webster on hearken

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