mischief

noun mis·chief \ ˈmis-chəf , ˈmish- \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

Examples: mischief in a Sentence

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.

3 a : action that annoys or irritates

Halloween mischiefs

b : the quality or state of being mischievous : mischievousness

had mischief in his eyes

See mischief defined for English-language learners

See mischief defined for kids

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 of mischief from the Web

And Aguirre was out on a $20,500 bond after being arrested in May and charged with three counts of third degree grand theft, burglary and criminal mischief.

— carli teproff and david j. neal, miamiherald, "They led police on a chase in a tow truck. Now they are charged with attempted murder.," 13 June 2018
Herr faced a number of charges including assault on a police officer, first-degree criminal mischief, interfering with an officer and second-degree breach of peace.

— nicholas rondinone, courant.com, "After Scuffle With West Hartford Cops, Man Strips, Breaks Sprinkler, Floods Cell," 11 June 2018
Barbeau faces charges that include second-degree assault, first-degree criminal mischief and reckless driving.

— the bulletin, OregonLive.com, "Road rage victim commits road rage herself, police say," 9 June 2018
Problems arise when criminals bring their beefs and business onto the premises, leading to treachery and mischief and much violence.

— gary thompson, Philly.com, "Jodie Foster talks about 'Hotel Artemis,' 'Black Mirror,' the business that shaped her, and the business she's helping to shape," 1 June 2018
The teen boy ultimately admitted to eight counts of reckless burning, two counts of depositing burning material on forest land, one count of second-degree mischief and one count of recklessly endangering hikers, the Oregonian reported.

— nicole blanchard, idahostatesman, "Teen must pay $36M for starting massive Oregon fire. His lawyer calls sum 'absurd'," 21 May 2018
Those charges were withheld, and Ricks pleaded guilty to criminal mischief, but the experience pushed her to work with at-risk youth and disenfranchised populations.

— chelsea brasted, NOLA.com, "WWOZ a hostile workplace for black women, current and former employees claim," 17 May 2018
After making waves in 2016’s Deadpool as the baddest of the good guys, the comic mischief-maker is back.

— edward barsamian, Vogue, "Inside the Deadpool 2 New York Screening With an Electric Shioli Kutsuna," 16 May 2018
For that, police tacked on two more charges: criminal mischief and false alarm.

— matthew martinez, star-telegram, "She was drunk at her kid's school play, kicked a cop then flooded the jail, Texas police say | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 15 May 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.

Origin and Etymology of mischief

Middle English meschief, from Anglo-French, misfortune, hardship, from Old French meschever to come out badly, mes- + chief head, end — more at chief

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year