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

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

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

Idioms and Phrases

see make mischief.

Synonym Study

See damage.

Example Sentences

Your governor won, your congressman—you can pretty much trust the numbers even factoring in the mischief in any system built by man.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The filling is jammy and rich, jarred fig jam brightened with chopped dates and an almost scandalous amount of orange zest, so every mouthful tastes like autumn sunlight and just a hint of mischief.

Read more on Salon

Yet it's clear from multiple conversations that it's not only mischief makers who are pondering what to do.

Read more on BBC

Aiming to “recapture that initial wonderment and whimsy,” he’s been going back for more than 10 years, always looking for “some kind of new and out-of-my-comfort-zone mischief.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Inmates have been known to set fires in rooms with no smoke alarms — not to cause mischief, but to cook and supplement cold, sometimes inedible meals.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• catastrophe 
• evil 
• misconduct 
• playfulness www.thesaurus.com
• prank 
• sabotage 
• vandalism 
• wrongdoing