1. to listen carefully or pay close attention
Usage: third person singular present of ‘harken’; somewhat formal or literary
2. to recall or evoke something from the past
Usage: often used with ‘back to’

Examples

• She harkens to her grandmother’s advice about saving money.
• The old man harkens to every word the doctor says.
• This music harkens back to the jazz age of the 1920s.
• The architecture harkens to classical Greek design.
• He harkens to the sound of footsteps in the hallway.
• The poem harkens back to simpler times.
• The teacher harkens to student concerns about the test.