How to Use hearken back in a Sentence

hearken back

verb
  • The use of high school students hearkens back to when the bandstand was built.
    — Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2025
  • This mood-boosting reward could well hearken back to our distant past.
    — Chris Wheatley, Longreads, 5 Jan. 2023
  • All of these seeds hearken back to times when seeds were simply a means to grow an abundance of pure, fresh food.
    — Melissa Breyer, Treehugger, 14 July 2023
  • The bronze doors hearken back to the days of the Republic of Amalfi.
    — Julia Buckley, CNN, 20 Oct. 2022
  • And there’s also the widespread sense that the old hearken back to some more homogenized past.
    — Elvia Limón, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2022
  • The buildings hearken back to days when miners and loggers crowded the main street’s saloons.
    — Cassidy Randall, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
  • For one, hearken back to the Greeks, and think of your debate as questioning, not combat.
    — Quartz, 6 Dec. 2022
  • The ad-free, clean interface hearkens back to the elder engine's early days.
    — Theara Coleman, theweek, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Michelle hearkened back to her White House-era style in a sheath dress that wouldn’t have looked out of place in her first lady wardrobe.
    — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 24 June 2026
  • There are a lot of people putting out memes that hearken back to the era in Germany in 1933.
    — Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 14 July 2023
  • In some ways, his efforts hearkened back to the origins of America itself.
    — Adam L. Rovner, The Conversation, 29 Apr. 2025
  • The Ymma dolls hearken back to Etoga and Nguepdjop’s life in Douala.
    — Kevin L. Clark, Essence, 13 May 2021
  • Regents or viceroys hearken back to royalty and empires, and that’s not the look Trump is going for here—at least for now.
    — Philip Elliott, Time, 8 Jan. 2026
  • The collection hearkens back to the ‘70s, a progressive turning point in men’s lives.
    — Julian Randall, Essence, 25 Jan. 2025
  • With its curvy lines and massive tan tires, the E-Coast hearkens back to when tail fins and whitewall tires were common sights on the road.
    — Eric Bangeman, Ars Technica, 22 Sep. 2023
  • Losing Alonso would hearken back to the Mets trading Tom Seaver.
    — Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 7 Oct. 2024
  • That hearkens back to the historical methods of making ice cream, Malek suggests.
    — Gary Stern, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024
  • Cummings hopes the series will hearken back to the infamous Friars Club Roasts of yore.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 3 Nov. 2022
  • Leprosy hearkens back centuries, all the way to its reference in the Bible in the Book of Leviticus.
    — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2024
  • Tie-dye is a creative way to add a splash of color to your wardrobe or hearken back to the flower power fashion of the 1960s.
    — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 5 June 2025
  • Critics say the message that small-town citizens will take matters into their own hands hearkens back to Jim Crow rhetoric.
    — Hank Sanders, Chicago Tribune, 10 Sep. 2023
  • For our writer, retro classics like Wonder bread, cold hot dogs, stovetop pudding, and ham sandwiches hearken back to his youth.
    — Robert Klose, Christian Science Monitor, 1 May 2025
  • The Windspin is a 2025 launch for Autry, though its retro track-star look hearkens back to an earlier time.
    — Hannah Dylan Pasternak, SELF, 11 Aug. 2025
  • My kingdom for a dozen eggs The long lines at the local grocery or warehouse store hearken back to the early days of iPhone releases.
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2025
  • Alternatively, some subtler designs do hearken back to the days at the makeup counter, coming in a range of shades that provide a better match for your skin tone.
    — Stacey Colino, TIME, 25 Feb. 2025
  • Also known as miner’s cut, this trendy style hearkens back to the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
    — Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 26 Aug. 2025
  • Today’s announcement hearkens back to that aesthetic.
    — Larry Olmsted, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
  • Construction will start this summer on a new cut flower and vegetable garden that hearkens back to the once-private estate's roots when it was called Oldfields.
    — Domenica Bongiovanni, The Indianapolis Star, 10 May 2024
  • The Row’s Montrose trench hearkens back to that golden age with a drapey, voluminous silhouette that can be shaped at will by an extra-long belt.
    — Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2024
  • As is so often the case with the current president, the episode hearkens back to the 2016 presidential election.
    — Niall Stanage, The Hill, 14 Mar. 2025

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

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