mischief

noun

mis·​chief ˈmis-chəf 

ˈmish-

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

Synonyms

• devilishness
• devilment
• devilry
• deviltry
• diablerie
• espièglerie
• hob
• impishness
• knavery
• mischievousness
• rascality
• roguery
• roguishness
• shenanigan(s)
• waggery
• waggishness
• wickedness

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

She’s been charged with home invasion burglary, two counts of assault, two counts of criminal mischief, terroristic threats and resisting arrest. —David Matthews, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 2025

Hartley was charged with four felony counts of criminal mischief, one count of misdemeanor battery and one count of aggravated battery. —Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 23 Apr. 2025

He was arrested and charged with grand theft of construction equipment, criminal mischief over $1,000 and burglary of a structure with property damage, police said. —Mark Price, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2025

He was charged him with two counts of battery, four counts of criminal mischief and abusing an elderly or disabled adult; Allen lost his left arm after a 1984 car accident. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 22 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mischief

• malicious mischief

Kids Definition

mischief

noun

mis·​chief ˈmis-chəf 

ˈmish-

1

: injury sense 2, harm

2

: a person or animal who causes mischief

3

: mischievous conduct or quality

a child gets into mischief

had mischief in their eyes