Hearkens, which means "listening or paying attention to something" is a word that can be easily replaced with several synonyms. Some alternatives to hearkens include "listens," "attends," "notices," "heeds," and "observes." Each of these words has a slightly different connotation and usage, but they all convey a similar meaning. For instance, "listens" is an excellent alternative to "hearkens" when indicating that someone is paying attention to what someone else is saying. While "attends" can be used to describe a situation where someone is present and focused on something. "Hears" and "heeds" can be used interchangeably with "hearkens" to denote that someone is listening and taking action based on what they hear.