Tenderly — choose the word that rhymes with the given word

Analyze the question: You are asked to find the word that rhymes with "tenderly". Rhyme means the words end with the same sound, starting from the last stressed vowel.

Explain the concept: In English, words rhyme when their stressed vowel and everything after it sound the same. Look at the stress pattern and the sounds from the stressed syllable onward.

Solution:

"Tenderly" is pronounced /ˈten.dəl.i/ (TEN-der-ly). The stressed syllable is "TEN", and the sounds that follow are "-der-ly".

Now compare the options:

• A. actually /ˈæk.tʃu.ə.li/: stressed on "AC", which has an /æ/ vowel. It does not match.
• B. slenderly /ˈslen.də.li/: stressed on "SLEN", with the same "-en-der-ly" ending as tenderly. Perfect rhyme.
• C. faithfully /ˈfeɪθ.fə.li/: stressed on "FAITH", with a different vowel. It does not match.
• D. constantly /ˈkɒn.stənt.li/: stressed on "CON", with a different vowel and ending. It does not match.

"Tenderly" and "slenderly" differ only in the opening consonant sound (t- vs. sl-), and everything from "-en-der-ly" onward is identical. That is exactly what a rhyme is.

Answer: B. slenderly

Tip: In rhyme questions, ignore the starting consonants and compare the stressed vowel and everything after it. For longer words ending in "-ly", check the stressed syllable first, because that is where the real rhyme lies. Here, "ten" and "slen" match, while the other options have different stressed vowels.