51Թ

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View synonyms for

mischief

[ mis-chif ]

noun

  1. conduct or activity that playfully causes petty annoyance.
  2. a tendency or disposition to tease, vex, or annoy.
  3. a vexatious or annoying action.
  4. harm or trouble, especially as a result of an agent or cause.

    Synonyms:

  5. an injury or evil caused by a person or other agent or cause.
  6. a cause or source of harm, evil, or annoyance.
  7. the devil.


mischief

/ ˈɪʃɪ /

noun

  1. wayward but not malicious behaviour, usually of children, that causes trouble, irritation, etc
  2. a playful inclination to behave in this way or to tease or disturb
  3. injury or harm caused by a person or thing
  4. a person, esp a child, who is mischievous
  5. a source of trouble, difficulty, etc

    floods are a great mischief to the farmer

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of mischief1

1250–1300; Middle English meschef < Old French, noun derivative of meschever to end badly, come to grief. See mis- 1, achieve
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of mischief1

C13: from Old French meschief disaster, from meschever to meet with calamity; from mes- mis- 1+ chever to reach an end, from chef end, chief
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Idioms and Phrases

see make mischief .
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Synonym Study

See damage.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

He added: "While the volume is the principal mischief it is clear that the nuisance is exacerbated by the repetition and poor quality of some of the performances".

From

There was nothing like Spy, a deeply reported New York gossip magazine with a literary soul and a bottomless sense of mischief.

From

The local Commission on Human Rights said nearly all cases it investigated uncovered mischief on the part of the police: covering up evidence, signs of torture.

From

They knew I might just form a new crew to cause chaos and mischief.

From

"It needs to appear as a trend, and then it's gone. Something is dripped here, something else over there, and when it's done well… it causes a bit of mischief."

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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