RhymeLand

the rhymes and the songs that used them

Words that rhyme withstrength

masculine

Masculine this word

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

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 NG·K·TH

What it is

The syllables' vowel sounds are identical.
The sounds after the vowels (if any) are identical.
The syllables begin differently.

How it feels

Perfect
Family
Additive / Subtractive
Assonance
Consonance

resolvedunresolved

Example

cat / hat — same AE vowel, same T ending

Source

Berklee College of Music's songwriting method (Pat Pattison)

1 syllable

length2

102

What it is

The syllables' vowel sounds are identical.
The sounds after the vowels come from the same phonetic family (e.g. T↔D, P↔B, M↔N).
The syllables begin differently.

How it feels

Perfect
Family
Additive / Subtractive
Assonance
Consonance

resolvedunresolved

Example

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

Family chart

	Plosives			Fricatives					Nasals
Voiced	b	d	g	v	TH	z	zh	j	m	n	ng
Unvoiced	p	t	k	f	th	s	sh	ch

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

Source

Berklee College of Music's songwriting method (Pat Pattison)

1 syllable

cents6temps2tents1bents6brentsdents2gents1hempslents1rents13scents3sents10stentsvents4friends106ends36sends1

2 syllables

events4adventsascentsassentsaugmentscements1consentsdescents2dissentsextents2fermentsindents

3 syllables

represents2presidents1circumventscontretempsdiscontentsmalcontentsnoneventsoccidents

4 syllables

disorientsmisrepresentsoverextends

What it is

The syllables' vowel sounds are identical.
The sounds after the vowels are identical, with one extra consonant on one side.
The syllables begin differently.

How it feels

Perfect
Family
Additive / Subtractive
Assonance
Consonance

resolvedunresolved

Example

love / loved — extra D on one side

Source

Berklee College of Music's songwriting method (Pat Pattison)

1 syllable

lengths2strengths6

881

What it is

The syllables' vowel sounds are identical.
The sounds after the vowels are identical, but one side stops one consonant earlier.
The syllables begin differently.

How it feels

Perfect
Family
Additive / Subtractive
Assonance
Consonance

resolvedunresolved

Example

cried / cry — one side missing the final D

Source

Berklee College of Music's songwriting method (Pat Pattison)

1 syllable

head219said146them89bed169friend133dead149end125then97death82men59yes36yet55breath60when48get32red49dress44met39mess43says22read21neck28guess29went23less22sex20legs17ten17lead16heads21wet20check14set13spend11bet14pen22bread19step13spent12meant8bend19gets8rent13sent10edge9flesh15leg8press8eggs7send5debt8let1sweat14ben4led7fresh5yep1spread6steps9bless1beg1jeff2chef3fed5deck8wreck11egg3threat1shed6stress4fred1heck4net4pet4Tedtent5gregdeaf3jet6lend4sec1checks5lets1stretch2

2 syllables

again1forget44instead39ahead21pretend26regret25weekend8upset9address9girlfriend2success6amen6confess9defend8boyfriend1unlessaccent4event4process3progress3sunset8accesspercent2footsteps3express3attend3intend1preventimpress2depend2regrets5consentdistress3possess4corvette5doorstep1excess6unsaid5caress3descend5repent4assets2extent2undress2intent1amend1ascend2barrettes1cassette2cassettes2cement1condemn2descent2flores1Macbeth1misled2outlet2seabed1sunsets1transcend2extendapex1baez1

3 syllables

cigarette20president5cigarettes13internet8represent2recommend1juliet3overhead6silhouette4Bethlehem1parapet2comprehend1riverbed3bayonet2juliette1alphabet1ambien1businessmen1condescend1coronets1Lafayette1letterhead1nonetheless1overfed1quarterdeck1statuette1suffragette1thoroughbred1acquiescealphabets1angrinessanisetteanisettesapprehendarrowheadarrowheadsavocetavocetsBangladeshbashfulnessbayonets2biomedbiotech

4 syllables

nevertheless1comediennediltiazemdisorientmisrepresentoverextendParisienneviramunes

5 syllables

videocassettevideocassettes

1103

What it is

The syllables' vowel sounds are the same.
The consonants after the vowel are not phonetically related.
The syllables begin differently.

How it feels

Perfect
Family
Additive / Subtractive
Assonance
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)

1 syllable

there278well142hair131air127care113hell87else57tell75tears30left62best63rest60fair45chest48where26chair38help32west29share27sense18stairs28bear24fell28scared17bell24next13test20wear15prayer21cell12health19felt11square15spell18stare24cares14tear3sell8smell6shelf33self14their2fence13kept6dare4dressed8spare11swear3bells13heh2guest5rare9held4breast18french2desk6blessed11belt9pair6slept5tells2wealth11helped1shell10text4checked14scare2shared9guests1claire2helps3smells1tests1yell5prayers6bare12nest7chairs9cared3bears4cells1

2 syllables

myself100yourself52hotel31nowhere18somewhere14himself15itself12respect16perfect6herself7themselves6against3affair9expect4aware5protect3prepared5defense6accept2upstairs1revenge5except1arrest2suspect1nightmare5effect5correct2subject2downstairs2preparerequest2suggestyourselves2motel8collect2impressed1direct1farewell5affairs3attempt1depressed5effects3doorbell2despair14offense2repair6compared1michellecompare8unfair4intense1obsessed2connect1suspects1defence3Pierre1affectbeware6elsewhere1protest2declare3

3 syllables

everywhere35anywhere22ourselves13underwear3personnel1carousel4millionaire7billionaire4isabelmillionaires2architect1clientele2disrespect2jezebel1overwhelmed1unprepared3citadel2debonair1Delaware2dialect2disconnect1disrepair2pirouette1recollect2unawares2Rooseveltbillionaires1caravel1incorrect1legionnaire1legionnaires1manifest1ourself1parallel1parallels1silverware1solitaire1thoroughfare1unaware1unimpressed1

4 syllables

mademoisellemademoiselles1unparalleled1aftereffectaftereffectsAix-la-ChapellecomediennesconcessionaireconcessionairesdiltiazemsinterconnectinterconnectsmaterielmaterielsoverprotectoverprotectsViramune

5 syllables

antipersonnel

“strength” at line end — from real songs

Shadows crawled across the living room's lengthI held on to you with a desperate strength

— The Mountain Goats, “Game Shows Touch Our Lives” · rhymes strength / length

I guess I don't know my own strengthI laid hands on her, I'll never stoop so low again

— Eminem, “Love the Way You Lie” · rhymes strength / again

And I once had strengthBut I have been selfish

— Jason Molina, “Love Leaves Its Abusers” · rhymes strength / selfish

How to read the 2089 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 1: Same stressed vowel, same sounds after it, different beginning. Full resolution — the strongest closure a rhyme can give a line.
Family rhyme 102: 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 2: Same vowel, but one word carries an extra consonant after the shared ending. The added sound softens the landing slightly.
Subtractive 881: Same vowel, but one word stops a consonant early. A slightly clipped, softer resolution than perfect rhyme.
Assonance 1103: Only the stressed vowel matches; the consonants after it are unrelated. Loose and open — useful when a section should stay unresolved.