junkie, junky

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

The answer is simple: junkie, junky are homophones of the English language.

junkie
  1. :: noun

    Slang A narcotics addict, especially one using heroin.

  2. :: noun

    Slang One who has an insatiable interest or devotion: a sports junkie.

junky
  1. :: adjective

    Of or related to junk; worthy of being discarded.

  2. :: adjective

    Meaningless, fatuous, or unbelievable: a junky novel.

  3. :: noun

    Variant of junkie.

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

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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").