mischief
- conduct or activity that playfully causes petty annoyance.
- a tendency or disposition to tease, vex, or annoy.
- a vexatious or annoying action.
- harm or trouble, especially as a result of an agent or cause.
- an injury or evil caused by a person or other agent or cause.
- a cause or source of harm, evil, or annoyance.
- the devil.
Origin of mischief
Synonyms
See more synonyms for mischief on Thesaurus.comSynonym study
Examples from the Web for mischief
Contemporary Examples
His entry takes the reader through a day of mischief with Bast, the somewhat mysterious creature from the Chronicles series.
Inside George R.R. Martin’s New Book (Mild Buzzkill: Only One Story is Martin’s)William O’Connor
June 17, 2014
The move apparently was to make sure none of the invitees was up to any mischief.
Most of the time, the mischief is buried deep in the spreadsheets.
On the mountain, as on the planet, the god of mischief will continue to rule.
Probably the greatest Halloween prank ever took place 75 years ago on Mischief Night.
Historical Examples
She was smiling now, and he caught a gleam of mischief in her eyes.
VivietteWilliam J. Locke
You are like two kittens, and might be in mischief or danger before you knew.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
And yet is talk a less evil than the mischief of mere experimenters.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
She had thought of sending a telegram, but saw that that might do mischief.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
That scoundrel Corney has been about some mischief—damn him!
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
mischief
- wayward but not malicious behaviour, usually of children, that causes trouble, irritation, etc
- a playful inclination to behave in this way or to tease or disturb
- injury or harm caused by a person or thing
- a person, esp a child, who is mischievous
- a source of trouble, difficulty, etcfloods are a great mischief to the farmer
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for mischief
n.
c.1300, "evil condition, misfortune, need, want," from Old French meschief "misfortune, harm, trouble; annoyance, vexation" (12c., Modern French méchef), verbal noun from meschever "come or bring to grief, be unfortunate" (opposite of achieve), from mes- "badly" (see mis- (2)) + chever "happen, come to a head," from Vulgar Latin *capare "head," from Latin caput "head" (see capitulum). Meaning "harm or evil considered as the work of some agent or due to some cause" is from late 15c. Sense of "playful malice" first recorded 1784.
Mischief Night in 19c. England was the eve of May Day and of Nov. 5, both major holidays, and perhaps the original point was pilfering for the next day's celebration and bonfire; but in Yorkshire, Scotland, and Ireland the night was Halloween. The useful Middle English verb mischieve (early 14c.) has, for some reason, fallen from currency.
Idioms and Phrases with mischief
mischief
see make mischief.