assonate

Etymology

From Latin assonō, from ad (“to, towards”) + sonō (“to sound, resound”).

assonate means to correspond or exhibit agreement in (particularly vowel) sounds. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.

Why this word is great

ASSONATE — [Verb] To correspond or agree in sound, especially in the resonant quality of vowel tones. From the Latin assonō, from ad ("to, towards") + sonō ("to sound, resound"). Unlike "rhyme," which demands the rigid lockstep of vowel and consonant, or "consonate," which finds its harmony in friction and closure, to assonate is to create a subtler, more spectral kinship through tone alone. It is the mournful 'o' connecting "lonely" and "moan," the shared sigh in the 'i' of "silver river glimmering," or the hollow 'a' carried on a draft through an empty hall—a sonic ghost, binding words not by strict rule but by the color of their breath.

verb

To correspond or exhibit agreement in (particularly vowel) sounds.“Part of the magic of her poetry was her ability to have her words assonate in the most propitious places.”