Definition

Verb: * To correspond or match in vowel sounds, especially in stressed syllables, while the consonant sounds differ. It is the technique of creating assonance.

Usage

• The verb "assonate" describes the action of words or syllables sharing similar vowel sounds. This is a deliberate literary device used primarily in poetry and prose to create internal rhyme, rhythm, or a specific auditory effect.
• It is an intransitive verb, meaning it does not take a direct object. Things "assonate" or "assonate with" each other.

Examples

• In the line "The light of the fire is a sight," the long 'i' sounds in "light," "fire," and "sight" assonate.
• The poet carefully chose words so that the stressed vowels would assonate throughout the stanza.
• "Lake" and "fate" assonate because they share the same vowel sound, even though their ending consonants are different.

Advanced Usage

• Linguistic Analysis: In phonology, one can analyze how particular vowel phonemes assonate across a line of verse to create cohesion.
• Literary Criticism: Critics might note how the author uses assonating vowels to evoke a particular mood or echo a theme.

Variants and Related Words

• Assonance (n): The stylistic device or the instance itself of vowel sound repetition. (e.g., The poem uses effectively.)
• Assonant (adj): Having or creating assonance. (e.g., The phrases created a musical quality.)

Synonyms

• Echo (in sound): To be similar or reminiscent in sound.
• Chime (in sound): To agree or harmonize in sound.

Antonyms

• Dissonate: To be harsh or inharmonious in sound.
• Clash: To conflict or be discordant.

Verb

1. correspond in vowel sounds; rhyme in assonance
   • The accented vowels assonated in this poem