mischief

noun

mis·chief | \ˈmis-chəf,

ˈmish-\

Definition of mischief

1 : a specific injury or damage attributed to a particular agent the polished floor … often causes mischiefs — bruises, sprains, dislocations— Herbert Spencer

2 : a cause or source of harm, evil, or irritation especially : a person who causes mischief He's a real mischief to his family.

3a : action that annoys or irritates Halloween mischiefs

b : the quality or state of being mischievous : mischievousness had mischief in his eyes

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Examples of mischief in a Sentence

It's hard to keep him out of mischief. the children claimed that setting off a firecracker was harmless mischief, but they got a lecture anyway

Recent Examples on the Web

Between them, the two face a variety of charges, including obstructing a police officer, assaulting a police officer and mischief. — Amy B Wang, ajc, "Cameras capture every angle of Canadian couple's snack-throwing, ceiling-shattering arrest," 1 July 2018 Casado, 20 at the time, was eventually charged with battery and resisting an officer with violence, marijuana possession and criminal mischief. — Charles Rabin, miamiherald, "Miami man sues after wild tussle with cops. Much of it was caught on body cam video.," 27 June 2018 Withdrawing from the deal could be a very good decision—provided it’s eventually replaced with a real nonproliferation regime and an arrangement that contains Iran and its proxies’ terror and mischief in the region. — Daniel J. Arbess, WSJ, "Is Trump Following a Grand Mideast Strategy?," 5 June 2018 The news of Leiato's dismissal comes a month after he was arrested in Eugene and charged with theft, criminal trespassing, and criminal mischief. — Tyson Alger, OregonLive.com, "Linebacker Fotu Leiato dismissed from the Oregon Ducks football team," 24 May 2018 Born to Mary Ruth Kowalski and Orrin W. Thompson, on a kitchen table in an Ellington farmhouse on Halloween night, Tommy spent his boyhood in mischief of fantastic finds. — courant.com, "Orrin W. Thompson," 7 July 2018 Haley Heynderickx is a deceptively soft-spoken singer who writes songs that blend folk, rock and classical with a hint of punk expressiveness and mischief. — Greg Kot, chicagotribune.com, "Haley Heynderickx is making this success thing seem like a happy accident — which it is," 5 July 2018 Between them, the two face a variety of charges, including obstructing a police officer, assaulting a police officer and mischief. — Amy B Wang, ajc, "Cameras capture every angle of Canadian couple's snack-throwing, ceiling-shattering arrest," 1 July 2018 Between them, the two face a variety of charges, including obstructing a police officer, assaulting a police officer and mischief. — Amy B Wang, Washington Post, "Cameras capture every angle of Canadian couple’s snack-throwing, ceiling-shattering arrest," 30 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mischief.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

11 Oct 2018

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Time Traveler for mischief

The first known use of mischief was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for mischief

mischief

noun

English Language Learners Definition of mischief

: behavior or activity that is annoying but that is not meant to cause serious harm or damage

: a playful desire to cause trouble

: harmful behavior

See the full definition for mischief in the English Language Learners Dictionary

mischief

noun

mis·chief | \ˈmis-chəf

Kids Definition of mischief

1 : behavior or activity that annoys or bothers but is not meant to cause serious harm It was a typical school plan to keep us out of mischief.— Richard Peck, A Year Down Yonder

2 : injury or damage caused by a person