1
: a specific injury or damage attributed to a particular agent
… the polished floor … often causes mischiefs—bruises, sprains, dislocations …—
Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer2
: 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 of mischief
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
Let’s have a moratorium on mischief during whatever this period is.
—ABC News, 2 Nov. 2025
The moon is glimmering, the veil between worlds is thin and there’s an air of mischief lingering in the shadows.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
But what had once been raucous and raunchy mischief, was now benign horseplay.
—Time, 30 Oct. 2025
Found lying under a pine tree in her backyard the next morning, she had been repeatedly bludgeoned with a golf club — and stabbed with a broken piece of it — after a night out looking to cause some pre-Halloween mischief with friends who lived in the neighborhood.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mischief
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ABC News, 2 Nov. 2025
The moon is glimmering, the veil between worlds is thin and there’s an air of mischief lingering in the shadows.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
But what had once been raucous and raunchy mischief, was now benign horseplay.
—Time, 30 Oct. 2025
Found lying under a pine tree in her backyard the next morning, she had been repeatedly bludgeoned with a golf club — and stabbed with a broken piece of it — after a night out looking to cause some pre-Halloween mischief with friends who lived in the neighborhood.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mischief
Cite this Entry
“Mischief.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mischief. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mischief
noun
mis·chief
ˈmis-chəf 
ˈmish-
1
2
: a person or animal who causes mischief
3
: mischievous conduct or quality
a child gets into mischief
had mischief in their eyes
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