mischief

Definition

Conduct that playfully causes petty annoyance.

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”).

Example Sentences

• "Drink led to mischief."
• "John's mischief, tying his shoelaces together, irked George at first."
• "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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