Meaning & use
hearkening
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“hearkening” is a form of “hearken”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
verbintransitiveliteraryold-fashioned
Listening carefully or paying attention to something, especially in a literary or old-fashioned style.
Grammar: No object; often followed by 'to': hearken to the call.
Patterns
- hearken to something
- hearken to someone
The old man hearkened to the sound of the distant bells.
She stood still, hearkening to the whispers in the dark forest.
They hearkened to their grandmother's advice about the coming storm.
Word forms
| third person singular | hearkens |
|---|---|
| past tense | hearkened |
| past participle | hearkened |
| -ing form | hearkening |
Common combinations
- hearken to a sound
- The travellers hearkened to a sound far off in the valley.
- hearken to a call
- The sailors hearkened to the captain's call and fell silent.
- hearken to advice
- If you had hearkened to my advice, you would not be in trouble now.
Synonyms and how they differ
- listen
- The everyday word; use 'listen' in normal conversation, and 'hearken' only in literary or old-fashioned writing.
- attend
- More formal and suggests paying careful attention, but it is still used in modern English, unlike 'hearken'.
- heed
- Focuses on taking notice and acting on what you hear; 'hearken' is simply about listening.
Opposites
Word family
- hearken verb
- The base form, meaning to listen or pay attention.
Commonly confused: hearkening or hark? hearkening or hearing?
hearkening vs hark
An old-fashioned exclamation meaning 'listen!', often used to call attention. 'Hearken' is the verb meaning to listen carefully.
hearkening vs hearing
The noun or present participle of 'hear', meaning the ability to hear or a legal meeting. 'Hearkening' is the -ing form of 'hearken'.
Practice
Choose the correct preposition: 'The villagers hearkened ___ the distant bells.'
Choose one answer.
'Hearken' is followed by 'to' when it takes an object: hearken to something. 'At', 'for', and 'with' do not fit this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hearkening”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.