mischief
Americannoun
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conduct or activity that playfully causes petty annoyance.
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a tendency or disposition to tease, vex, or annoy.
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a vexatious or annoying action.
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harm or trouble, especially as a result of an agent or cause.
- Synonyms:
- hurt
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an injury or evil caused by a person or other agent or cause.
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a cause or source of harm, evil, or annoyance.
-
the devil.
noun
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wayward but not malicious behaviour, usually of children, that causes trouble, irritation, etc
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a playful inclination to behave in this way or to tease or disturb
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injury or harm caused by a person or thing
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a person, esp a child, who is mischievous
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a source of trouble, difficulty, etc
floods are a great mischief to the farmer
Synonym Usage
See damage.
Etymology
Origin of mischief
1250–1300; Middle English meschef < Old French, noun derivative of meschever to end badly, come to grief. See mis- 1, achieve
Explanation
People who pull pranks, make jokes, and do things that annoy other people — but aren't really awful — are good at mischief. Mischief is a word for things that are a little bad or reckless but ultimately harmless. Hitting someone with a spitball is mischief. Hitting them with a rock is dangerous and therefore much worse than mischief. Making mischief can be fun, as long as it doesn't get out of hand. People who do a lot of mischief are called "mischievous."
Vocabulary lists containing mischief
"Mending Wall," by Robert Frost
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Lincoln Inaugural Address (March 1861)
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Frankly I'm not sure what the secretary of state was up to, mischief making? I don't know. But I think that question would be better posed to him."
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
There’s no more fitting description of a documentary that’s cobbled together from the dying gasps of ’90s fashion culture, when glamor and mischief reigned supreme.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
Mr. Pierre is solid, stolid superhero material; Mr. Chandler is pure mischief.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
He's not up to mischief: these are males that don't bite, and they carry a gut bacteria called Wolbachia, which means when they mate with uninfected females, the eggs won't hatch.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
“I’m not going to hurt you, though you were causing mischief, now, weren’t you?”
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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.
