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Mischief
Definitions
- 1 Conduct that playfully causes petty annoyance. uncountable
"Drink led to mischief."
- 2 reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others wordnet
- 3 A playfully annoying action. countable
"John's mischief, tying his shoelaces together, irked George at first."
- 4 the quality or nature of being harmful or evil wordnet
- 5 A group or a pack of rats. collective, countable, uncountable
"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."
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- 6 Harm or injury:; Harm or trouble caused by an agent or brought about by a particular cause. archaic, uncountable
"She had mischief in her heart."
- 7 Harm or injury:; An injury or an instance of harm or trouble caused by a person or other agent or cause. archaic, countable
"It may end in her doing a great mischief to herself—and perhaps to others too."
- 8 A criminal offence defined in various ways in various jurisdictions, sometimes including causing damage to another's property. countable, uncountable
- 9 A cause or agent of annoyance, harm or injury, especially a person who causes mischief. archaic, countable
"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 do mine over his. Life I would not put upon the perhaps involuntary twitch of a finger."
- 10 The Devil; used as an expletive. countable, euphemistic, uncountable
"What the mischief are you? and how the mischief did you get here, and where in thunder did you come from?"
- 11 Casual and/or flirtatious sexual acts. Australia, countable, uncountable
- 1 To do a mischief to; to harm. obsolete, transitive
""Not now, Smee," Hook said darkly. "He is only one, and I want to mischief all the seven. Scatter and look for them.""
- 2 To slander. obsolete, transitive
"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."
Etymology
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.
See also for "mischief"
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