rhyming
Matching final sounds
Rhyming describes words or lines that end with matching sounds: rhyming couplets, a rhyming dictionary.
Children's books often feature rhyming text.
The term can suggest something is facile or formulaic—just rhyming nonsense—though rhyme itself requires craft.
In Cockney rhyming slang, everyday words are replaced with rhyming phrases: "stairs" becomes "apples and pears."
Metered poetic passage
- coupletTwo successive verse lines
- sonnetFourteen-line metered poem
- limerickComedic five-line poem
- haikuJapanese seventeen-syllable verse
ballad · ode · quatrain · stanza · elegy · villanelle · sestina · rondel
Vowel sound repetition
- consonanceHarmonious sound combination
- alliterationMatching initial consonants
- monorhymeVerse with identical endings
- homophoneIdentically pronounced, differently spelled word
onomatopoeia · cadence · meter · foot · stressed · unstressed · syllable · phoneme
Musical piece with words
- lyricsWritten words for music
- melodyPleasing sequence of notes
- chorusSingers performing together
- refrainAbstain from acting
hook · anthem · lullaby · serenade · carol · hymn · psalm · canticle
Jokes using sound similarities
- wordplayVerbal wit techniques
- jingleBrief advertising melody
- dittyShort, simple song
- tongue twisterPhrase hard to articulate
mnemonic · catchphrase · slogan · chant · singsong · nonsense verse
verse
Metered poetic passage
haiku · ballad · ode · quatrain · stanza · elegy · villanelle · sestina · rondel · lyric
assonance
Vowel sound repetition
- consonanceHarmonious sound combination
- alliterationMatching initial consonants
- monorhymeVerse with identical endings
homophone · onomatopoeia · cadence · meter · foot · stressed · unstressed · syllable · phoneme · echo
song
Musical piece with words
refrain · hook · anthem · lullaby · serenade · carol · hymn · psalm · canticle · rap
puns
Jokes using sound similarities
tongue twister · mnemonic · catchphrase · slogan · chant · singsong · nonsense verse
- literacyliteracy, reading, spelling, alphabet, writing
- literary techniquesforeshadowing, alluding, symbolizing, satirizing, parodying
- poetry activitiesreciting, poetry slam, verse writing, composing, spoken word
- readingfluency, read, comprehension, readers, books
- word gamescrossword, Scrabble, crossword puzzle, anagram, word game
- Children's Readingpicture books, chapter books, storytime, story time, read-alouds
rhymingdiscordant
Lacking musical agreement
cacophonous · dissonant · jarring · clashing · unmelodious
rhymingunrhymed
Lacking end-sound correspondence
free verse · blank verse · blank · prose · discordant
- rhyming gamesWord-sound matching activities
- rhyming dictionaryReference for similar-sounding endings
- rhyming slangSubstitution using sound-alike phrases
- rhyming coupletsTwo consecutive matching-sound lines
- rhyming verseLines with echoing finals
- Cockney rhyming slangLondon dialect using rhymes