Meanings
plural consonances
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesA form of rhyme having the same consonants but different vowels.
Synonyms: consonant rhyme, pararhyme · Antonyms: perfect rhyme, exact rhyme, full rhyme
- countableuncountableentertainmentHarmony; agreement; absence of discordance.
Like a musical string, the optic nerve responds to the waves with which it is in consonance, while it refuses to be excited by others of almost infinitely greater energy, whose period of recurrence are not in unison with its own.
1865, John Tyndall, On Radiation: The "Rede" Lecture, Delivered in the Senate-house Before the University of Cambridge on Tuesday, May 16, 1865, page 33Synonyms: concord, concordance · Antonyms: dissonance, cacophony
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA form of rhyme having the same consonants but different vowels.
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe repetition of consonants (or consonant patterns) especially at the ends of words
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latincōnsonantia
- Middle Frenchconsonance
- Middle Englishconsonance
- Englishconsonance
From Middle English consonance, from Middle French consonance, from Latin cōnsonantia. Doublet of consonancy. By surface analysis, con- + son- + -ance.
More words from Middle English, Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian съзвучие, съгласие
- съзвучие (săzvučie)the repetition of consonant sounds
- съгласие (săglasie)music harmony; agreement
- хармония (harmonija)music harmony; agreement
Czech souzvuk
- souzvukmusic harmony; agreement
French consonance, consonance
- consonancethe repetition of consonant sounds
- consonancemusic harmony; agreement
Hungarian konszonánc, mássalhangzós asszonánc
- konszonáncthe repetition of consonant sounds
- mássalhangzós asszonáncthe repetition of consonant sounds
- összhangmusic harmony; agreement
- összhangzatmusic harmony; agreement
Italian consonanza
- consonanzamusic harmony; agreement
Māori orokatirua, orokati tārua
- orokatiruathe repetition of consonant sounds
- orokati tāruathe repetition of consonant sounds
Portuguese consonância
- consonânciamusic harmony; agreement
Russian созву́чие, консона́нс
- созву́чие (sozvúčije)the repetition of consonant sounds
- консона́нс (konsonáns)the repetition of consonant sounds
- созву́чие (sozvúčije)music harmony; agreement
- консона́нс (konsonáns)music harmony; agreement
- согла́сие (soglásije)music harmony; agreement
- гармо́ния (garmónija)music harmony; agreement
Slovak súzvuk
- súzvukmusic harmony; agreement
Swedish konsonans, samklang
- konsonansmusic harmony; agreement
- samklangmusic harmony; agreement
Ukrainian співзву́ччя
- співзву́ччя (spivzvúččja)music harmony; agreement
Cite this entry
consonance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/consonance
“consonance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/consonance. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “consonance,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/consonance.
Source: consonance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.