Which term describes the repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words?

• A. Rhyme
• B. Alliteration
• C. Meter
• D. Denotation

Answer: (B)

Repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words is alliteration. It gives a playful, musical feel to language and helps certain words stand out, which is why you often hear it in tongue twisters and poetry. A familiar example is a phrase like “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”—the repeating 'p' sound at the start of several words creates that alliterative effect. Other terms describe different ideas: rhyme involves repeating sounds at the ends of words or lines, meter refers to the rhythm pattern of a line, and denotation means the literal dictionary meaning of a word. So alliteration matches the description exactly by focusing on those repeated initial sounds.