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View synonyms for mischief

mischief

[ mis-chif ]

noun

  1. conduct or activity that playfully causes petty annoyance.
  2. a tendency or disposition to tease, vex, or annoy.
  3. a vexatious or annoying action.
  4. harm or trouble, especially as a result of an agent or cause.

    Synonyms: hurt

  5. an injury or evil caused by a person or other agent or cause.
  6. a cause or source of harm, evil, or annoyance.
  7. the devil.


mischief

/ ˈmɪstʃɪf /

noun

  1. wayward but not malicious behaviour, usually of children, that causes trouble, irritation, etc
  2. a playful inclination to behave in this way or to tease or disturb
  3. injury or harm caused by a person or thing
  4. a person, esp a child, who is mischievous
  5. a source of trouble, difficulty, etc

    floods are a great mischief to the farmer

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of mischief1

1250–1300; Middle English meschef < Old French, noun derivative of meschever to end badly, come to grief. See mis- 1, achieve
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Word History and Origins

Origin of mischief1

C13: from Old French meschief disaster, from meschever to meet with calamity; from mes- mis- 1+ chever to reach an end, from chef end, chief
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Idioms and Phrases

see make mischief .
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Synonym Study

See damage.
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Example Sentences

The character went on to appear in 17 novels and 39 novellas in narratives that detailed a wide range of adventures and mischief.

From Time

They steep mischief and self-assertion — both sexual and cultural — in solutions of tender pathos.

While Kari and Carel sounds like a ’70s sitcom about roommates who work at a chocolate factory and the mischief they get into, it’s actually the first step in understanding where “curry” comes from.

From Ozy

If there was a side of a power conference bracket designed for bid-thieving mischief entering the week, it was the top half of the Big East tournament because of top-seeded Villanova’s short-handedness.

You’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of both the science itself and how science gets done — including plenty of mischief.

Then he could actually start making things better, instead of just making mischief.

Making sense of her life on the page, deploying raw emotion alongside humor and wry mischief, has long been a Bechdel pursuit.

This year, White Mischief is taking a break from its usual big productions and having a number of more intimate soirees.

His entry takes the reader through a day of mischief with Bast, the somewhat mysterious creature from the Chronicles series.

The move apparently was to make sure none of the invitees was up to any mischief.

That woman meant mischief, or she would never have dared to suggest that a British officer should throw in his lot with hers.

Lucy Warrender, ever ready for mischief, feigned an intense interest in racing matters, but failed to draw Lord Hetton.

Its vitals were going—were gone, before the smallest indications of mischief appeared upon the surface.

The cock springs out of its seat when water gets into the cylinder, and prevents any mischief from the velocity of the fly-wheel.

Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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mischantermischief-maker