Mischief
['mɪstʃɪf]
Definition
(noun.) reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others.
Checked by Edmond--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) 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.
(n.) Cause of trouble or vexation; trouble.
(v. t.) To do harm to.
Edited by Lilian
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Evil, ill, harm, injury, damage, hurt, detriment, disadvantage, prejudice.[2]. Trouble, misfortune, ill consequence.
Editor: Myra
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Damage, hurt, detriment, disservice, annoyance, injury, ill-turn, damage, barm
ANT:Compensation, good-turn, benefit, favor, gratification
Inputed by Jenny
Definition
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.
Checked by Chiquita
Examples
- Who was the poet who said that Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do? Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- He has done dreadful mischief, I own; but he has done it innocently. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- When it tries to do so by sumptuary legislation, nothing but mischief is invoked. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- But why the mischief did Mr. Godfrey keep it all to his lady and himself? Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- In a place like this I'm sure to upset something, tread on people's toes, or do something dreadful, so I keep out of mischief and let Meg sail about. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- You thought those men up there wanted to do mischief. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- She brings mischief wherever she goes. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- How could he tell what mischief he might be doing? Jane Austen. Emma.
- You wouldn't have thought of saying such mischief if you hadn't been a horse-rider? Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- After tea he said we should neither of us leave him that evening; he would not let us stray out of his sight, lest we should again get into mischief. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- The mischiefs done were always so nicely timed, also, as further to shelter the aggressor. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Checker: Tom