hearken

verb

heark·​en ˈhär-kən 

variants or harken

hearkened or harkened; hearkening ˈhär-kə-niŋ 

ˈhärk-niŋ

or harkening

intransitive verb

1

: listen

hearkened without much mental comment

—Theodore Dreiser

2

: to give respectful attention

the humble folk who hearkened to these evangelists

—G. 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

Synonyms

• listen
• hear

Examples of hearken in a Sentence

hearken! I hear the distant beat of the hooves of many horses

Recent Examples on the Web

Eventually, the team chose Sacramento, where much of downtown still hearkens to the mid-20th century with block upon block of drab government buildings. —Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2025

The arguments that monetarists present hearkens to the prepositions taken by the metallists in the debate between metallists and chartalists. —Vipin Bharathan, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025

The bold World of Beer signage and Wild Wing Cafe mural also hearken to its past. —Charlotte Observer, 5 Aug. 2025

The cheesy filling hearkens to the beloved appetizer, but the herbs and garlic give it a bit more flavor depth. —Ann Taylor Pittman, Southern Living, 13 July 2025

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

Phrases Containing hearken

• hearken back

Rhymes for hearken

• darken
• harken
• markan
• parkin

Kids Definition

hearken

verb

hear·​ken

ˈhär-kən

hearkened; hearkening

ˈhärk-(ə-)niŋ

: listen sense 1, attend