hearken back
verb
variants
or harken back
hearkened back or harkened back; hearkening back or harkening back; hearkens back or harkens back
: to go back to or recall to mind something in the past : hark back
—usually used with to
This place caters to Americans and hearkens back to days when the town attracted famous celebrities.—
Barbara Zaragoza
Barbara ZaragozaGreenberg worked very closely with the laboratory which harkened back to his earliest days in the film business …—Ron Magid
Ron MagidExamples of hearken back in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
His joke hearkened back to a sequence during Scherzer’s time with the Washington Nationals, when manager Dusty Baker came to the mound, planning to remove him.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
When asked to describe his time on set with Harjo, MacLachlan hearkened back to his earlier days spent with the iconic Twin Peaks creator, Lynch.
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 21 Sep. 2025
The 27-year-old bluegrass performer pulled in five CMA Award nominations this year, clearly charming critics with his grooving neo-traditional stylings that hearken back to the1990s.
—Marcus K. Dowling, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
With imagery that hearkened back to a preppy sports heritage, high-quality fabrics, and high prices (for the era), Tracksmith projected a vision of running at odds with that of Nike, Brooks, and Asics.
—Matt Gross, Outside, 9 Sep. 2025
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Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
When asked to describe his time on set with Harjo, MacLachlan hearkened back to his earlier days spent with the iconic Twin Peaks creator, Lynch.
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 21 Sep. 2025
The 27-year-old bluegrass performer pulled in five CMA Award nominations this year, clearly charming critics with his grooving neo-traditional stylings that hearken back to the1990s.
—Marcus K. Dowling, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
With imagery that hearkened back to a preppy sports heritage, high-quality fabrics, and high prices (for the era), Tracksmith projected a vision of running at odds with that of Nike, Brooks, and Asics.
—Matt Gross, Outside, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hearken back
Cite this Entry
“Hearken back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hearken%20back. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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