bazaar, bizarre

The words bazaar, bizarre sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Why do bazaar, bizarre sound the same even though they are completely different words?

The answer is simple: bazaar, bizarre are homophones of the English language.

bazaar
  1. :: noun

    A market consisting of a street lined with shops and stalls, especially one in the Middle East.

  2. :: noun

    A shop or a part of a store in which miscellaneous articles are sold.

  3. :: noun

    A fair or sale at which miscellaneous articles are sold, often for charitable purposes.

bizarre
  1. :: adjective

    Strikingly unconventional and far-fetched in style or appearance; odd. See Synonyms at fantastic.

Definitions from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition and Wordnik.

Share bazaar, bizarre

About Homophones

Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled.

If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally "different writing").