1
: a specific injury or damage attributed to a particular agent
… the polished floor … often causes mischiefs—bruises, sprains, dislocations …—
Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer2
: a cause or source of harm, evil, or irritation
especially
: a person who causes mischief
He's a real mischief to his family.
3
a
: action that annoys or irritates
Halloween mischiefs
b
: the quality or state of being mischievous : mischievousness
had mischief in his eyes
Synonyms of mischief
Examples of mischief in a Sentence
It's hard to keep him out of mischief.
the children claimed that setting off a firecracker was harmless mischief, but they got a lecture anyway
Recent Examples on the Web
Toto, the little mischief-maker, was about to become part of our family.
—Flora Stubbs, Travel + Leisure, 7 Feb. 2026
Meanwhile, Arzola remains locked up at a Miami-Dade County jail as of Saturday and was charged with armed robbery, false imprisonment and criminal mischief.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2026
Now, an arrest warrant has been issued for Stjepovic on charges of ethnic intimidation and criminal mischief.
—Patrick Damp, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
And the Scottish referendum failed, but a lot of mischief was done, and now the United States seems interested in repeating this playbook against Canada, only with the United States in the role of [President Vladimir] Putin’s Russia.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mischief
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Flora Stubbs, Travel + Leisure, 7 Feb. 2026
Meanwhile, Arzola remains locked up at a Miami-Dade County jail as of Saturday and was charged with armed robbery, false imprisonment and criminal mischief.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2026
Now, an arrest warrant has been issued for Stjepovic on charges of ethnic intimidation and criminal mischief.
—Patrick Damp, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
And the Scottish referendum failed, but a lot of mischief was done, and now the United States seems interested in repeating this playbook against Canada, only with the United States in the role of [President Vladimir] Putin’s Russia.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mischief
Cite this Entry
“Mischief.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mischief. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mischief
noun
mis·chief
ˈmis-chəf 
ˈmish-
1
2
: a person or animal who causes mischief
3
: mischievous conduct or quality
a child gets into mischief
had mischief in their eyes
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