From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Mischief \Mis"chief\ (m[i^]s"ch[i^]f), n. [OE. meschef bad
result, OF. meschief; pref. mes- (L. minus less) + chief end,
head, F. chef chief. See {Minus}, and {Chief}.]
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs. --Ps. lii. 2.
[1913 Webster]
The practice whereof shall, I hope, secure me from
many mischiefs. --Fuller.
[1913 Webster]
2. Cause of trouble or vexation; trouble. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
The mischief was, these allies would never allow
that the common enemy was subdued. --Swift.
[1913 Webster]
{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.]
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Mischief \Mis"chief\, v. t.
To do harm to. [Obs.] --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
mischief
n 1: reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or
annoyance in others [syn: {mischief}, {mischief-making},
{mischievousness}, {deviltry}, {devilry}, {devilment},
{rascality}, {roguery}, {roguishness}, {shenanigan}]
2: the quality or nature of being harmful or evil [syn:
{maleficence}, {mischief}, {balefulness}] [ant:
{beneficence}]
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