I. ˈmis(h)chə̇f noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English meschief, mischef, from Old French meschief calamity, misfortune, from mes- mis- (I) + chef, chief end, head — more at chief
1. obsolete : calamity : misfortune
to mourn a mischief that is past and gone is the next way to draw new mischief on — Shakespeare
2.
a. : a specific injury or damage caused by a person or other agency
will never forget the mischiefs they have done to us
the polished floor … often causes mischiefs — bruises, sprains, dislocations — Herbert Spencer
b. : harm, evil, or damage that results from a particular agency or cause
one failure led to another, suspicion became general, and the mischief was done — J.A.Todd
the concealment of a truth, with its resultant false beliefs, must produce mischief — G.B.Shaw
3. : a diseased condition : a cause of sickness
the mischief is out of your system, and all you have to do is to build your system up — John Buchan
4.
a. : a cause or source of harm, evil, or irritation ; especially : a person who causes mischief
housing in rocks, of mariners the mischief — Robert Browning
he's a real mischief to his family
b. : the aspect of a situation or the quality of a thing that produces harm or causes irritation
the mischief of snow is that it turns to slush
the mischief is that people … do not confine themselves to one cocktail — Arnold Bennett
5. : devil
an accident that played the mischief with his plans
can't see why in the mischief you ever got mixed up with that reform gang — Willa Cather
6.
a. : action or conduct that annoys or irritates wihout causing or meaning to cause serious harm
little wretches, always up to some mischief … all bedraggled from some roguery — Virginia Woolf
a seasonal ritual among Rochester's youth, like today's Halloween mischiefs — S.H.Adams
b. : mischievousness
inclined to mischief rather than malice — American Guide Series: Arizona
a defiance, offered from sheer, youthful, wanton mischief — Arnold Bennett
7. : discord , dissension
has often made mischief between husband and wife
stirred up mischief between the young people
Synonyms: see injury
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English mischefen, from mischef, n.
: to do harm to : injure
that … tyrant that mischiefs the world with his mines of Ophir — John Milton
any of the other boys … they would have mischiefed, but they just tweaked Peter's nose — J.M.Barrie