1. plural of assonance; instances of resemblance of sound between syllables in nearby words arising from the rhyming of stressed vowels but not consonants
Usage: literary term; poetry

Examples

• The poet used multiple assonances throughout the verse to create a musical effect.
• Students were asked to identify the assonances in the poem’s first stanza.
• The assonances in ‘hear the mellow wedding bells’ create a pleasing sound pattern.
• Her analysis focused on the assonances that linked key words in each line.
• The song’s lyrics contained several assonances that made them memorable.
• Teachers often use examples of assonances to help students understand sound devices in poetry.