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Words that rhyme with pretending — 618 rhymes by quality | Rhyme Land
RhymeLand

the rhymes and the songs that used them

Words that rhyme withpretending

feminine
Masculine

Ends on a stressed syllable — a one-syllable rhyme, or a multisyllable word whose primary stress lands last. The rhyme hits the final beat, the way most rhymes in songs do.

Examples

love · dove · today · believe · forgot

Feminine this word

Ends with an unstressed syllable trailing the stressed one — always at least two syllables. The rhyme lands a beat earlier and trails off softly.

Examples

river · mother · follow · breaking · mountain

Masculine and feminine endings rarely sing together (the rhyme lands on a different beat), so they're kept apart here.

 vowel EH coda N·D
39
What it is
  1. The syllables' vowel sounds are identical.
  2. The sounds after the vowels (if any) are identical.
  3. The syllables begin differently.
How it feels
  1. Perfect
  2. Family
  3. Additive / Subtractive
  4. Assonance
  5. Consonance
resolvedunresolved
Example

cat / hat — same AE vowel, same T ending

Source
Berklee College of Music's songwriting method (Pat Pattison)
2 syllables
ending3sending5spending11bending2mending1blending4fending1lending4pendingrendingtrending3
3 syllables
defending2depending2ascending1descending1offending1suspending1amending1appendingbefriending
4 syllables
comprehending1condescending1apprehendingnever-endingoverspending
5 syllables
overextending
33
What it is
  1. The syllables' vowel sounds are identical.
  2. The sounds after the vowels come from the same phonetic family (e.g. T↔D, P↔B, M↔N).
  3. The syllables begin differently.
How it feels
  1. Perfect
  2. Family
  3. Additive / Subtractive
  4. Assonance
  5. Consonance
resolvedunresolved
Example

cat / pad — AE vowel; T and D are both stops

Family chart
PlosivesFricativesNasals
VoicedbdgvTHzzhjmnng
Unvoicedptkfthsshch

Each column is a family pair — same place + manner, only the voicing differs.

Source
Berklee College of Music's songwriting method (Pat Pattison)
2 syllables
venting1denting2renting13scenting3tenting5
3 syllables
assentingaugmentingcementing1consentingdissentingfermentingindentinginventinglamenting1
4 syllables
circumventingcomplementingcomplimentingdiscontenting
5 syllables
disorientingexperimenting1
5
What it is
  1. The syllables' vowel sounds are identical.
  2. The sounds after the vowels are identical, with one extra consonant on one side.
  3. The syllables begin differently.
How it feels
  1. Perfect
  2. Family
  3. Additive / Subtractive
  4. Assonance
  5. Consonance
resolvedunresolved
Example

love / loved — extra D on one side

Source
Berklee College of Music's songwriting method (Pat Pattison)
2 syllables
tempting
3 syllables
attempting1dissemblingexempting1preempting
99
What it is
  1. The syllables' vowel sounds are identical.
  2. The sounds after the vowels are identical, but one side stops one consonant earlier.
  3. The syllables begin differently.
How it feels
  1. Perfect
  2. Family
  3. Additive / Subtractive
  4. Assonance
  5. Consonance
resolvedunresolved
Example

cried / cry — one side missing the final D

Source
Berklee College of Music's songwriting method (Pat Pattison)
2 syllables
wedding8getting2letting1heading1checking14setting1begging1spreading2sweating2steppingbettingbedding2shedding1wrecking1
3 syllables
forgetting8regretting1abettingbedeckingbegettingbeheadingbesettingbloodlettingbobsleddingbootleggingcondemning2
4 syllables
bayonettingbottleneckingfeatherbeddinginterpretingoversteppingpirouettingsilhouetting
442
What it is
  1. The syllables' vowel sounds are the same.
  2. The consonants after the vowel are not phonetically related.
  3. The syllables begin differently.
How it feels
  1. Perfect
  2. Family
  3. Additive / Subtractive
  4. Assonance
  5. Consonance
resolvedunresolved
Example

love / dot — both AH, but V and T have nothing in common

Assonance rhymes always have consonants after the vowels, but the consonants cannot be phonetically related.

Source
Berklee College of Music's songwriting method (Pat Pattison)
2 syllables
wearing2telling1helping2selling1yelling1staring3blessing6guessing1testing1messing1dressing1sharing1blaring1caring1melting3bearing1resting1scaring8wrestling1tearing1pressing8swearing1Bering1cleansing1daring1dwelling1herring1nesting1stressing1stretching1airing127baring54Behringbelchingbelling24belting9benching3benzing6besting63breasting18chairing38clenchingcresting2deafing3delling3delvingdredgingdrenchingedgingellingerringetchingfairing45felling28felting11fencingfetchingflaringfledgingfledglingfleshing15flexing1frenching2garing1gellingglaringharing1hecklinghedgingheftinghelling87helming1hessinghexingjelling
3 syllables
expecting4protecting3preparingsuggestingcollecting2addressing1depressing1dissecting1propelling1protesting1undressing1arresting2accepting2accessingaffectingaggressingallegingannexingassessingattestingavengingbewaringburlesquingcaressing3childbearingcommencingcomparingcompellingcompressingcondensingconfectingconfessing9congestingconnecting1contesting2correcting2declaringdefectingdeflectingdejectingdespairing14detecting1detestingdigesting1digressing1directing1dispellingdispensingdistressing3divesting1duplexingeffecting5egressingejectingelecting2enmeshingensnaring
4 syllables
overwhelming1unsuspecting1acquiescingcoalescingconvalescingdisaffectingdisconnecting1disinfectingdispossessingdisrespecting2interceptinginterjectingintersectingintrospectingmanifesting1misdirectingoverbearingoverdressingparalleling1parallellingreassessingrecollecting2recompensingredirectingreelectingrepossessingresurrectingretrospectingself-respectingundersellingindependent1independence1appendages1dependencies1expendable1recommended1amendableappendixes
5 syllables
interconnectingoverprotecting
6 syllables
41
What it is
  1. The syllables' vowel sounds are identical.
  2. The sounds after the vowels (if any) are identical.
  3. The syllables begin the same — repetition, not a rhyme.
How it feels

Off the rhyme scale — identity is repetition, not resolution. Shown so you can spot it, not reach for it.

Example

fuse / confuse — both stressed syllables are 'fuse'

Source
Berklee College of Music's songwriting method (Pat Pattison)
1 syllable
tend
2 syllables
tender8tendedtendered8tenders8tendingtendontendonspretend26attend3intend1contendportend
3 syllables
intended1tenderly3bartender1pretender4tenderness1tendencies3attendance2contender1pretended26attending3attendant1attendants1contenders1attended3bartenders1contendedcontendingintending1portendedportendingpretenders4tendency
4 syllables
unattended1attendances2unintended
5 syllables
superintendentsuperintendents

“pretending” at line end — from real songs

Something was endingAre you through pretending
— Arcade Fire, “Deep Blue” · rhymes pretending / ending
How clutch are the people that say they love you and who pretending?Like, who got your best interest? Like, how much are you dependent?
— Kendrick Lamar, “Mortal Man” · rhymes pretending / dependent
Deaf, dumb and blind, you just keep on pretendingThat everyone's expendable and no one has a real friend
— Pink Floyd, “Dogs” · rhymes pretending / friend

How to read the 618 results

Tiers follow Pat Pattison's stability scale — pick the resolution your line needs, not just the closest sound. Bold words are common in lyrics; a struck-through word with a cliché flag is an overworked pair; a vermilion dot counts how often the pair appears at line end in our corpus of real songs.

Perfect rhyme 39
Same stressed vowel, same sounds after it, different beginning. Full resolution — the strongest closure a rhyme can give a line.
Family rhyme 33
The consonants after the vowel are swapped for phonetic siblings — T↔D, M↔N, S↔Z. Nearly as stable as perfect rhyme, with far more word choices.
Additive 5
Same vowel, but one word carries an extra consonant after the shared ending. The added sound softens the landing slightly.
Subtractive 99
Same vowel, but one word stops a consonant early. A slightly clipped, softer resolution than perfect rhyme.
Assonance 442
Only the stressed vowel matches; the consonants after it are unrelated. Loose and open — useful when a section should stay unresolved.
Identity 41
The whole stressed syllable repeats, beginning included. That's repetition, not rhyme — the line echoes instead of resolving.