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

But the ability to order around AI agents with plain language makes it possible for even the technically non-proficient to do mischief.

Read more on Barron's

Though Godard later came to be synonymous with turgid, obtuse cinema, “Nouvelle Vague” is the opposite: a sprightly, effervescent ode to moviemaking as semi-controlled mischief.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Neighboring Iran’s capacity for mischief looks severely weakened by Israeli-U.S. attacks this summer.

Read more on Barron's

AI can scan, flag, and analyze at speeds humans cannot, but it still lacks context, nuance, and the human intuition necessary to differentiate between chips and guns, mischief and menace.

Read more on Salon

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

Related Words

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