harken back

A form of hearken back — Synonym of hark back (“to allude, return, or revert (to a subject previously mentioned, etc.); also, to evoke, or long or pine for (a past era or event)”).

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Meanings

verbharken back (third-person singular simple present harkens back, present participle harkening back, simple past and past participle harkened back)

present singular third person harkens back · participle present harkening back · participle past harkened back · past harkened back

  1. USalternativeAlternative spelling of hearken back.

    The emerging consensus that writing was merely transcribed speech, then, harkened back to the pre-disciplinary, liberal arts college

    1994, David Coogan, Electronic Writing Centers: Computing the Field of Composition, page 4

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
hark back
Cite this entry
APA

harken back. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harken%20back

MLA

“harken back.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harken%20back. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “harken back,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harken%20back.

Source: harken back on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.