mischief
/ˈmɪs.t͡ʃɪf/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.36 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A criminal offence defined in various ways in various jurisdictions, sometimes including causing damage to another's property.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Drink led to mischief."
- "John's mischief, tying his shoelaces together, irked George at first."
- "I'le aſſure ye / She vvill not ſee you: ſhe has heard, […] your ſeverall miſcheifes, / Your rovvſes, and your vvenches: […]"
- "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."
- "Meet a mischief of mice that is not nibbling away at the foundation of an old building."
- "A group of rats is not a herd or a gaggle, but a pack or a mischief of rats. Rats in general are omnivorous, meaning they will eat almost anything."
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”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmɪs.t͡ʃɪf/
- British English: /ˈmɪsˌt͡ʃiːf/