mischief
Syllables: mis·chiefUK/ˈmɪsˌt͡ʃiːf//ˈmɪs.t͡ʃɪf/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
mischief noun: conduct that playfully causes petty annoyance.
Noun
mischief (countable and uncountable, plural mischiefs)
- Conduct that playfully causes petty annoyance.
- Drink led to mischief.
- Synonyms:
- delinquency, naughtiness, roguery, scampishness, atrociousness, awfulness, badness, corruption, corruptness, criminality
- A playfully annoying action.
- John's mischief, tying his shoelaces together, irked George at first.
- I'le aſſure ye / She vvill not ſee you: ſhe has heard, […] your ſeverall miſcheifes, / Your rovvſes, and your vvenches: […]1610–1616 (date written), Iohn [i.e., John] Fletcher, Monsieur Thomas. A Comedy. […], London: […] Thomas Harper, for Iohn Waterson, […], published 1639, →OCLC, Act I, scene ii, signature C, verso
- A nest or pack of mice or rats.
- Kirac, the leader of the rats under his charge, speaks to the major through his telepathic abilities that manifested after the alien virus infected him and his mischief of rats.2014, G. W. Rennie, The Rat Chronicles, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 21
- Meet a mischief of mice that is not nibbling away at the foundation of an old building.2025 December 25, Neva Rae Fox, “This Mischief of Mice Preserves a Cathedral”, in The Living Church, archived from the original on 28 Jul 2026
- Harm or trouble caused by an agent or brought about by a particular cause.
- She had mischief in her heart.
- Sooner or later he'll succeed in doing some serious mischief.
- An injury or an instance of harm or trouble caused by a person or other agent or cause.
- It may end in her doing a great mischief to herself—and perhaps to others too.
- [R]eligion / Hides many mischiefs from suspicion.c. 1589–1590 (date written), Christopher Marlo[we], edited by Tho[mas] Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Nicholas Vavasour, […], published...
- A criminal offence defined in various ways in various jurisdictions, sometimes including causing damage to another's property.
- A cause or agent of annoyance, harm or injury, especially a person who causes mischief.
- To die like a man of honour, Sir Hargrave, you must have lived like one. You should be sure of your cause. But these pistols are too ready a mischief. Were I to meet you in your own way, Sir Hargrave, I should not expect, that a man so enraged would fire his over my head, as I should be willing to...1753 (indicated as 1754), [Samuel Richardson], The History of Sir Charles Grandison. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by C. Hitch and L....
- Epimetheus was scatter-brained and a mischief to men for having taken the woman [Pandora] that Zeus had formed.1993, Carlos Parada, Genealogic Guide to Greek Mythology, page 71
- The Devil; used as an expletive.
- What the mischief are you? and how the mischief did you get here, and where in thunder did you come from?1967, The Statesman, volume 12, page 260
- Casual and/or flirtatious sexual acts.
Verb
mischief (third-person singular simple present mischiefs, present participle mischiefing, simple past and past participle mischiefed)
- To do a mischief to; to harm.
- "Not now, Smee," Hook said darkly. "He is only one, and I want to mischief all the seven. Scatter and look for them."1911, J[ames] M[atthew] Barrie, “The Island Come True”, in Peter and Wendy, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 86
- To slander.
- And so it hath been divers times; Men mischiefing the Jews to excuse their own Wickedness: as to instance one Precedent in the time of a certain King of Portugal.1708, John Dunton, The Phenix, page 403
mischief meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
mischief in Hindi
- conduct that playfully causes petty annoyance
- शरारत śarārat
mischief in Tamil
- குறும்புத்தனம், குறும்புகள் செய்பவர், காயம் முதலியவை, சில்மிஷம்
mischief in Marathi
- mischief, raillery
- चेष्टा ceṣṭā
mischief in Urdu
- mischief
- شیطنت śaitanat
More languagesFewer languages
- mischief in Bengali
- শয়তানি śoẏtani, অকর্ম okormo, অনিষ্ট oniśṭo
- mischief in Malayalam
- കന്നന്തിരിവ് kannantirivŭ, കുറുമ്പ് kuṟumpŭ
- mischief in Kannada
- ಕೀಟಲೆ, ತುಂಡು, ತುಂಟು, ಹುಡುಗಾಟ
- mischief in Punjabi
- ਇਲਤ ilat
- mischief in Gujarati
- મસ્તી mastī, ચાળા cāḷā
- mischief in Sanskrit
- एनस् enas
- mischief in Vietnamese
- trò tinh nghịch, trò tinh quái, trò láu cá
Examples of mischief in a sentence
- A group of rats is not a herd or a gaggle, but a pack or a mischief of rats.2015, Rachel Smith, John Davidson, Rats For Kids, Mendon Cottage Books, →ISBN, page 6:
- This was only the latest internet-based catastrophe caused by a mischief of rats (yes, that's what a group of rats is called).2026 April 11, Aaron Greenbaum, “Rats Are Wrecking Fiber Optic Internet Cables – And It's A Bigger Problem Than You Think”, in BGR...
- Was I the Cauſe of Miſchief, or the Man / Whoſe lawlesſ Luſt the bloody War began?1697, Virgil, “The Tenth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis....
- Vanity working on a weak head, produces every sort of mischief.1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter 8, in Emma: […], volume I, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John...
Synonyms of mischief
- delinquency
- naughtiness
- roguery
- scampishness
- atrociousness
- awfulness
- badness
- corruption
- corruptness
- criminality
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of mischief
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | mischiefs |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | mischiefs |
| present participle | mischiefing |
| past participle | mischiefed |
| past | mischiefed |
| alternative form | mischieve |
Origin of mischief
From Middle English myschef, meschef, meschief, mischef, from Old French meschief, from meschever (“to bring to grief”), from mes- (“badly”) + chever (“happen; come to a head”), from Vulgar Latin *capare, from Latin caput (“head”).
From Middle English myschefen, myscheven, from Old French meschever.
Words formed from mischief
Phrases with mischief
Questions about mischief
- What does mischief mean?
- Mischief means conduct that playfully causes petty annoyance.
- What is mischief in Hindi?
- Mischief in Hindi is शरारत (śarārat). See Mischief meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use mischief in a sentence?
- A group of rats is not a herd or a gaggle, but a pack or a mischief of rats.
- What part of speech is mischief?
- Mischief can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce mischief?
- Mischief is pronounced /ˈmɪsˌt͡ʃiːf/ (UK).
- What is the plural of mischief?
- The plural of mischief is mischiefs.
Words near mischief in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: mischief (page history and authors); mischief (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); चेष्टा (Marathi) (page history and authors); شیطنت (Urdu) (page history and authors); অকর্ম (Bengali) (page history and authors); കന്നന്തിരിവ് (Malayalam) (page history and authors); mischief (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ચાળા (Gujarati) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “mischief.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/mischief. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.