3 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Mischief \Mis"chief\, n. [OE. meschef bad result, OF meschief;
pref. mes- (L. minus less) + chief end head, F. chef chief.
See {Minus}, and {Chief}.]
1. 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. --Chaucer.
Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs. --Ps. lii. 2.
The practice whereof shall, I hope, secure me from
many mischiefs. --Fuller.
2. Cause of trouble or vexation; trouble. --Milton.
The mischief was these allies would never allow
that the common enemy was subdued. --Swift.
{To be in mischief}, to be doing harm or causing annoyance.
{To make mischief}, to do mischief, especially by exciting
quarrels.
{To play the mischief}, to cause great harm; to throw into
confusion. [Colloq.]
Syn: Damage; harm; hurt; injury; detriment; evil; ill.
Usage: {Mischief}, {Damage}, {Harm}. Damage is an injury
which diminishes the value of a thing harm is an
injury which causes trouble or inconvenience; mischief
is an injury which disturbs the order and consistency
of things We often suffer damage or harm from
accident, but mischief always springs from perversity
or folly.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Mischief \Mis"chief\, v. t.
To do harm to [Obs.] --Milton.
From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]:
mischief
n 1: reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or
annoyance in others [syn: {mischief-making}, {mischievousness},
{deviltry}, {devilry}, {devilment}, {rascality}, {roguery},
{roguishness}, {shenanigan}]
2: the quality or nature of being harmful or evil [syn: {maleficence},
{balefulness}] [ant: {beneficence}]
more about mischief
browse words by letter
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
or search
thesauri
dictionary
search words
|
Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
|
