What is the term for two words that sound similar?

The term for two words that sound similar is "rhyme." Rhyme refers to the correspondence of sounds, specifically the repetition of similar sounds in the final stressed syllables and any following sounds in two or more words. For example, "cat" and "hat," or "moon" and "spoon" are familiar examples of rhyming words, as they share the same ending sounds.

Rhyme is often used in poetry and song lyrics to create a musical quality and enhance the overall aesthetic of the language. It also serves to make the text more memorable. This characteristic of having a similar sound makes rhyme distinct from other literary devices, which may involve wordplay or figurative language but do not focus primarily on sound correspondence in the same way that rhyme does.