This page has a list of closed pairs of English rhyming words—in each pair, both words rhyme with each other and only with each other.
Monosyllabic pairs
editDisyllabic pairs
editTrochaic pairs
editIn a trochaic pair, each word is a trochee, with the first syllable stressed and the second syllable unstressed.
Trochaic-or-iambic pairs
editIn an trochaic-or-iambic pair, each word can be either a trochee (stressed on the first syllable) or an iamb (stressed on the second syllable).
- contract, entr'acte
- discount, miscount
- hereby, nearby
- sunlit, unlit
- thereby, whereby
- therein, wherein
- thereof, whereof
- therewith, wherewith
Iambic pairs
editIn an iambic pair, each word is an iamb and has the first syllable unstressed and the second syllable stressed.
Trisyllabic pairs
editDactylic pairs
editIn a dactylic pair, each word is a dactyl and has the first syllable stressed and the second and third syllables unstressed.
- agitate, sagittate
- analyst, panellist
- article, particle
- bandmaster, grandmaster
- banister, canister
- bingeworthy, cringeworthy
- bonytail, ponytail
- brotherhood, motherhood
- charlatan, tarlatan
- collier, jollier
- copulate, populate
- creepier, sleepier
- cuneiform, uniform
- devious, previous
- Everest, cleverest
- fealty, realty
- fortify, mortify
- gradient, radiant
- javelin, ravelin
- jawbreaker, lawbreaker
- jitterbug, litterbug
- Kodiak, zodiac
- lexicon, Mexican
- loyalty, royalty
- manhandle, panhandle
- medium, tedium
- mellophone, telephone
- minister, sinister
- modulate, nodulate
- mutiny, scrutiny
- president, resident
- serpentine, turpentine (in RP, and some British English dialects)
Amphibrachic pairs
editIn an amphibrachic pair, each word is an amphibrach and has the second syllable stressed and the first and third syllables unstressed.
- attainder, remainder
- autumnal, columnal
- concoction, decoction (In GA, these rhyme with auction; there is also the YouTube slang word obnoxion, meaning something that is obnoxious.)
- distinguish, extinguish
- pneumatic, rheumatic
Anapestic pairs
editIn an anapestic pair, each word is an anapest and has the first and second syllables unstressed and the third syllable stressed.
At this time, no anapestic pairs have been found. The pair "uneclipsed, unellipsed" is disqualified because uneclipsed also rhymes with ellipsed, and because unellipsed also rhymes with eclipsed.
Tetrasyllabic pairs
editPentasyllabic pairs
editAsymmetric pairs
editIn an asymmetric pair, the words differ in number of syllables. Each pair is in a subsection according to the respective numbers of syllables in the words when they are in alphabetical order.
Disyllabic-and-monosyllabic pairs
editDisyllabic-and-trisyllabic pairs
editDisyllabic-and-tetrasyllabic pairs
edit- thinnest, violinist (although Bentley's Miscellany does contain the line "The Dublin Stout out-Guinnessed Guinness"[2])
Trisyllabic-and-disyllabic pairs
editTrisyllabic-and-tetrasyllabic pairs
edit- bestial, celestial
- bigotry, obligatory
- brilliant, resilient
- cordial, primordial
- fricative, indicative
Tetrasyllabic-and-trisyllabic pairs
edit- alluvial, pluvial
- behaviour, saviour
- commodity, oddity (In GA, these rhyme with Alaudidae)
- emergency, urgency
- habitual, ritual
- sarrusophone, sousaphone
Pentasyllabic-and-tetrasyllabic pairs
editSee also
editExternal links
edit- RhymeZone rhyming dictionary and thesaurus
- Merriam-Webster's Word Central
- RhymeBrain Rhyming Dictionary. Easy to read on your phone.
- Rhymes.net
- Category:English rhymes - Wiktionary
- ^ In many dialects, these also rhyme with oil, soil, boil, spoil, mohel, etc.
- ^ Dickens, Charles; Ainsworth, William Harrison; Smith, Albert (1842). "Bentley's Miscellany".