A perfect rhyme for “open” ends in /oʊpən/, the sound from its stressed vowel to the end of the word. Near rhymes differ by a single sound, which is enough to end a line beside “open” without matching it exactly. Most of the near rhymes end in one of two sounds, /oʊʃən/ or /oʊkən/.
Spoken aloud, “open” is /ˈoʊpən/, respelled OH-puhn, two syllables with the stress on the first. A rhyme has to match from that stressed syllable to the end, and the syllables before it are free to differ.
“Open” has 1 perfect rhyme in common use (reopen) and 41 near rhymes.
In This Page
Perfect Rhymes With Open
- Reopen
Near Rhymes With Open
Among the 41 near rhymes for “open”, the most common ending is /oʊʃən/, as in ocean and motion. After that comes /oʊkən/, the ending of broken and spoken. In most near rhymes for “open”, one sound of the /oʊpən/ ending is different and the rest is the same.
Near Rhymes For Open Like Ocean And Motion
Said with /ʃ/ in place of the /p/ of “open”, ocean, motion and promotion end in /oʊʃən/.
- Ocean
- Motion
- Promotion
- Emotion
- Notion
- Potion
- Devotion
- Commotion
- Lotion
Open Rhymes With An -oken Ending: Broken And Spoken
Common English has eight words ending in /oʊkən/, each said with /k/ in place of the /p/ of “open”.
- Broken
- Spoken
- Token
- Woken
- Heartbroken
- Unspoken
- Unbroken
- Outspoken
Roman And Abdomen As Near Rhymes For Open
With /m/ in place of the /p/ of “open”, the ending becomes /oʊmən/, as in roman, abdomen and omen.
- Roman
- Abdomen
- Omen
- Bowman
- Showman
- Yeoman
Words Like Logan And Slogan That Rhyme Loosely With Open
Logan, slogan and shogun share the ending /oʊɡən/, which is /ɡ/ in place of the /p/ of “open”.
- Logan
- Slogan
- Shogun
- Brogan
Open Rhymes Such As Stolen And Swollen
In stolen, swollen and colon the ending is /oʊlən/, which is /l/ in place of the /p/ of “open”.
- Stolen
- Swollen
- Colon
Open Rhymes Ending In -osion, Like Explosion And Erosion
Explosion, erosion and implosion are near rhymes on /oʊʒən/, which is /ʒ/ in place of the /p/ of “open”.
- Explosion
- Erosion
- Implosion
Chosen /oʊzən/, reopened /oʊpənd/, no-one /oʊwən/ and hogan /ɑn/ are looser near rhymes for “open”, each on an ending of its own.
Rhymes On The Final Syllable Of Open
“Open” ends on an unstressed /-ən/, a syllable it shares with twelve common words. Only that last syllable matches and the stressed syllables differ, so the rhyme is weak on the page. Songwriters and poets still use rhymes of this kind, because listeners do not hear the difference in stress when the beat is on the final syllable.
Consonance Rhymes With Open
In consonance, two words have the same stressed vowel and end on consonants of the same kind, and this is the nearest match any single word has to “open”. The endings are listed from the nearest match to the loosest, and 32 words on six endings qualify.
Consonance For Open Like Hoping And Coping
Hoping, coping and moping end in /oʊpɪŋ/, on the stressed vowel of “open” and a consonant of the same kind.
- Hoping
- Coping
- Moping
Consonance For Open Like Growling And Rolling
Words ending in /oʊlɪŋ/ share the stressed vowel of “open” and end on a related consonant.
- Growling
- Rolling
- Bowling
- Controlling
- Tolling
- Patrolling
- Strolling
Consonance For Open Like Closing And Proposing
The /oʊzɪŋ/ ending appears in seven words, each pronounced with the stressed vowel of “open”.
- Closing
- Proposing
- Posing
- Supposing
- Exposing
- Opposing
- Imposing
Consonance For Open Like Joking And Smoking
Against “open”, the /oʊkɪŋ/ ending matches the stressed vowel and differs after it, as in joking, smoking and choking.
- Joking
- Smoking
- Choking
- Poking
- Soaking
- Provoking
Consonance For Open Like Groaning And Moaning
Groaning, moaning and owning end in /oʊnɪŋ/, on the stressed vowel of “open” and a consonant of the same kind.
- Groaning
- Moaning
- Owning
- Phoning
- Cloning
Consonance For Open Like Loading And Exploding
Words ending in /oʊdɪŋ/ share the stressed vowel of “open” and end on a related consonant.
- Loading
- Exploding
- Unloading
- Downloading
Does Broken Rhyme With Open
People often ask whether these words rhyme with “open”. Only the sounds from the stressed vowel on count, so two words can share four letters and still not rhyme.
| Word | Rhymes With Open | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Reopen | Yes | Perfect rhyme, matching every sound from the stressed vowel on |
| Broken | Near rhyme | /k/ in place of the /p/ of "open", near enough for the end of a line |
| Stolen | Near rhyme | /l/ in place of the /p/ of "open", near enough for the end of a line |
| Happen | Consonance only | Same stressed vowel, and the final consonant is of the same kind rather than the same sound |
| Can | No | Only the unstressed last syllable matches, and the stressed syllable is different |
| Pen | No | Same letters at the end, but said /ɛn/ |
Near Rhymes For Open By Word Class
Most near rhymes for “open” are 27 nouns, followed by eight verbs and five adjectives. Motion is both a noun and a verb, so it is listed once, under the part of speech it takes more often. As “open” is a noun, noun rhymes such as ocean, motion and promotion fit the same place in a sentence.
| Word Class | Near Rhymes |
|---|---|
| Nouns | Ocean, motion, promotion, emotion, notion, potion, devotion, commotion, lotion, token, roman, abdomen |
| Verbs | Broken, spoken, woken, stolen, swollen, frozen, reopened, woven |
| Adjectives | Heartbroken, unspoken, unbroken, outspoken, unopened |
Body Parts And Feelings That Rhyme With Open
Meaning has no effect on whether two words rhyme, so the rhymes for “open” name every kind of thing, including abdomen and colon among body parts. Nothing among animals, colors, foods, flowers, cities and places rhymes with “open” at all.
| Kind Of Word | Rhymes |
|---|---|
| Body Parts | Abdomen, colon |
| Feelings | Emotion, devotion |
The Ending Sound In Open
“Open” ends in the rhyme sound /oʊpən/, made up of the stressed vowel /oʊ/ followed by /p/, /ə/ and /n/. One other common word, reopen, ends in the same sound. The ending has two syllables, so a perfect rhyme has to match the stressed vowel and every sound after it.
Words That Look Like Open But Do Not Rhyme
“Open” ends in -pen, as do happen, pen, sharpen and aspen, but none of them rhymes with it. Happen ends in /æpən/ and pen ends in /ɛn/, whereas “open” ends in /oʊpən/. These words and “open” have the same closing /n/, so a pairing with any of them is a near rhyme rather than a perfect rhyme.
| Word | Ending Sound | Closing Sound Shared With Open |
|---|---|---|
| Happen | /æpən/ | /n/ |
| Pen | /ɛn/ | /n/ |
| Sharpen | /ɑrpən/ | /n/ |
| Aspen | /æspən/ | /n/ |
| Bullpen | /ʊlpɛn/ | /n/ |
| Ripen | /aɪpən/ | /n/ |
| Dampen | /æmpən/ | /n/ |
| Deepen | /ipən/ | /n/ |
Rhyme Schemes With Open
“Open” fits the common stanza forms through near rhymes and consonance, since it has no perfect rhyme. In the scheme, lines with the same letter rhyme with each other.
| Scheme | Line endings | How The Lines Pair |
|---|---|---|
| ABAB | Open / ocean / reopen / motion | Alternating lines, with the near rhymes on the B lines and the perfect pair on the A lines. |
FAQs
Only one common word rhymes perfectly with “open”, and that word is reopen. They have the full ending /oʊpən/, a sound few English words share. Writers who need a different word can use near rhymes such as broken, stolen and spoken.
Things you can name that rhyme with “open” include ocean, logan, hogan and potion. They are near rhymes, since no everyday object name ends in the full /oʊpən/ of “open”.
In common English, 42 words rhyme with “open” once near rhymes are counted alongside perfect ones. Only one of them ends in the full /oʊpən/, and the other 41 are near rhymes.
Near rhymes for “open” include explosion, chosen, roman, motion, frozen and promotion. All of them share the /oʊ/ vowel of “open” and end in different sounds after it. In a lyric, listeners hear them as a full match, because the shared vowel is what they notice at speaking speed.
“Open” ends in the same letters as happen, pen and sharpen, yet none of them rhymes with it. They are pronounced with a different stressed vowel from the /oʊ/ heard in “open”, so the shared spelling says nothing about the sound.
“Open” has two syllables, said OH-puhn, with the stress on the first. Rhymes for “open” are judged from that stressed syllable to the last sound of the word.
