Definitions for mischief
ˈmɪs tʃɪfmis·chief

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. mischief, mischief-making, mischievousness, deviltry, devilry, devilment, rascality, roguery, roguishness, shenanigannoun

   reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others

2. maleficence, mischief, balefulnessnoun

   the quality or nature of being harmful or evil

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. mischiefnoun

   Harm or evil caused by an agent or brought about by a particular cause.

2. mischiefnoun

   One who causes mischief. In a milder sense, one who causes petty annoyances. mischief-maker.

3. mischiefnoun

   Vexatious or annoying conduct.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. MISCHIEFnoun

   Etymology: meschef, old French.

   1. Harm; hurt; whatever is ill and injuriously done.

   The law in that case punisheth the thought; for better is a mischief than an inconvenience. Edmund Spenser, on Ireland.

   Come you murth’ring ministers!
   Wherever in your sightless substances
   You wait on nature’s mischief. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

   Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs. Psal. lii. 2.

   Was I the cause of mischief, or the man,
   Whose lawless lust the fatal war began? John Dryden, Æn.

   Come not thou with mischief-making beauty,
   To interpose between us, look not on him. Nicholas Rowe.

   2. Ill consequence; vexatious affair.

   States call in foreigners to assist them against a common enemy; but the mischief was, these allies, would never allow that the common enemy was subdued. Jonathan Swift.

2. To Mischiefverb

   To hurt; to harm; to injure.

   Etymology: from the noun.

   If the greatest inward heat be not sweetened by meekness, or not governed by prudence, can it bring to our souls any benefit? rather it mischiefs them. Thomas Sprat, Sermons.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Mischief

   Mischief or malicious mischief is the name for a criminal offenses that is defined differently in different legal jurisdictions. While the wrongful acts will often involve what is popularly described as vandalism, there can be a legal differentiation between vandalism and mischief. The etymology of the word comes from Old French meschief, which means "misfortune", from meschever, "to end badly".

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Mischiefnoun

   harm; damage; esp., disarrangement of order; trouble or vexation caused by human agency or by some living being, intentionally or not; often, calamity, mishap; trivial evil caused by thoughtlessness, or in sport

2. Mischiefnoun

   cause of trouble or vexation; trouble

3. Mischiefverb

   to do harm to

FreebaseRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Mischief

   The etymology of the word comes from Old French meschief, which means "misfortune,' from meschever, "to end badly." In United States criminal law, mischief is an offense against property that does not involve conversion. It typically involves any damage, defacement, alteration, or destruction of property. Common forms include vandalism, graffiti, or some other destruction or defacement of property other than arson. Governed by state law, criminal mischief is committed when a perpetrator, having no right to do so nor any reasonable ground to believe that he/she has such right, intentionally damages property of another person, intentionally participates in the destruction of property of another person, or participates in the reckless damage or destruction of property of another person. Criminal mischief is usually a misdemeanor. In computer science and hacker jargon, mischief is a form of attack that clearly indicates the breach of the system and constitutes a form of injury or an infringement of rights, more specifically invasion of privacy, against which legal action can be taken to secure damages. Grey hat hackers often use mischief as a way to signal security breaches to system administrators.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Mischief

   mis′chif, n. an ill consequence: evil: injury: damage, hurt: (coll.) the devil, as in 'What the mischief,' &c.—n. Mis′chief-mak′er, one who incites to mischief.—adjs. Mis′chief-mak′ing, causing mischief; Mis′chievous, causing mischief: injurious: prone to mischief.—adv. Mis′chievously.—n. Mis′chievousness.—Play the mischief with, to disturb anything greatly. [O. Fr. meschef, from mes-, ill, chef—L. caput, the head.]

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. mischief

   See MASTER OF MISRULE.

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. mischief

   naughty behavior, misbehaviour in a playful way sometimes causing harm

   The little mischiefs of childhood are no longer funny.

   
   

   Submitted by anonymous on March 15, 2019  

Matched Categories

1. • Evil

How to pronounce mischief?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say mischief in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of mischief in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of mischief in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of mischief in a Sentence

1. Michel de Montaigne:

   No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.

2. Amanda Eckstein:

   He’s usually the class clown of the group, he’s always into mischief.

3. Aaron Hill:

   Oh, treacherous night thou lendest thy ready veil to every treason, and teeming mischief's beneath thy shade.

4. Danielle Citron:

   You see a lot of mischief online in ways that torment and exploit the privacy of women, girls and minorities... [ and yet ] we're gnashing our teeth when people are using online tools to protect themselves, i'm not saying that this is the way to do it... but when you have no other alternative, when you don't have accountability, people take self-protective measures into their own hands.

5. William Cobbett:

   It is no small mischief to a boy, that many of the best years of his life should be devoted to the learning of what can never be of any real use to any human being. His mind is necessarily rendered frivolous and superficial by the long habit of attaching importance to words instead of things; to sound instead of sense.

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