weakened rhyme

In linguistics, rhyme is the correspondence of similar-sounding final syllables in words. It's used to create pleasing sounds and unify poetic structures. While end rhyme is most common, internal rhyme also exists. True rhymes include masculine (same vowel-consonant sound, e.g., stand/land), feminine (two syllables rhyme, e.g., profession/discretion), and trisyllabic rhymes. Near rhymes include eye rhyme, where spelling is similar but pronunciation differs (cough/slough), and pararhyme, where vowel sounds differ but consonants are similar (grand/grind). Weakened rhyme, or unaccented rhyme, occurs when the rhyming syllable is unstressed (bend/frightened). This can sometimes be considered consonance, where only final consonants match (best/least). Assonance is a related device where only vowel sounds are repeated (grow/home).