Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To use alliteration in speech or writing.
  • intransitive verb To have or contain alliteration.
  • intransitive verb To form or arrange with alliteration.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To begin with the same letter or sound, as two or more words in immediate or near succession; agree in initial letter or sound; make an alliteration.
  • To use alliteration.
  • noun One given to the use of alliteration.
  • Formed by or showing alliteration: as, alliterate words.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To employ or place so as to make alliteration.
  • intransitive verb To compose alliteratively; also, to constitute alliteration.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb to use alliteration

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb use alliteration as a form of poetry

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Back-formation from alliteration.]

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Examples

  • (What you meant, I assume, was "alliterate", as in "bobby bounced a bright blue ball before bounding back to billy's")

    Original Signal - Transmitting Digg 2009

  • Perhaps you could give us the some sort of creatively alliterate Christmas film list.

    TEN of TERROR #9: The Shining « Giant Killer Squid - Film, Comics, News, Reviews and more 2009

  • (Like Chesterton, I alliterate too much; and for the same reason, which is that I will not knock off using the right word and seek a feeble substitute, merely because too many of the right words begin with the same letter of the alphabet.)

    Quotha: A comment upon the procedures of the CBO superversive 2010

  • (Like Chesterton, I alliterate too much; and for the same reason, which is that I will not knock off using the right word and seek a feeble substitute, merely because too many of the right words begin with the same letter of the alphabet.)

    superversive: A digression superversive 2010

  • I will also pitch the other more wordy, alliterate, and somewhat baser title that came to mind:

    Title help, please « BuzzMachine 2009

  • Scanning verse is infinitely more complex that we lead students to realize (lest they despair), so I would say that the meter of the line is perfectly acceptable OE verse, though, as you point out, it doesn't alliterate.

    The Poetics of Tolkien Europop Richard Nokes 2006

  • By nonreader, we met alliterate — someone who can read perfectly well, but prefers other forms of communication and art over text.

    Take the CLAT « educating alice 2008

  • | Reply being the notorious nitpicker (and alliterate to boot!) that I am.

    EXTRALIFE – By Scott Johnson - Today’s Comic: B-MEN 2006

  • Justice Peter Zarella, for example, made a thoughtful and alliterate injunction: "The ancient definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman has its basis in biology, not bigotry."

    Kit Gallant: Gay Marriage Comes to Connecticut 2008

  • "Pastors on Patrol" reminds me of Hell's Grannies and "Irish Send Fast Filly to Feature in Festival" is too lyrical to be anything but an alliterate contrivance.

    Archive 2008-09-01 2008

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