mischief

(redirected from mischiefs)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Idioms.

Mischief

A specific injury or damage caused by another person's action or inaction. In Civil Law, a person who suffered physical injury due to the Negligence of another person could allege mischief in a lawsuit in tort. For example, if a baseball is hit through a person's window by accident, and the resident within is injured, mischief can be claimed. It is distinct from malicious mischief, which is a criminal act usually involving reckless or intentional behavior such as Vandalism.

mischief

noun annoyance, criminality, cruelty, damage, damnum, danger, detriment, devilment, deviltry, disservice, evil, evil conduct, fault, foul play, frolicsomeness, harm, harmmul action, hurt, ill consequence, impishness, incommodum, injurious conduct, injuriousness, injury, injustice, maleficium, malicious action, malignity, maltreatment, meanness, misbehavior, misconduct, misdoing, misusage, molestation, nastiness, naughtiness, nuisance, outrage, prankishness, puckishness, rascality, roguery, ruin, transgression, trouble, vice, villainy, waggery, waggishness, wickedness, wrong, wrongdoing
Associated concepts: malicious mischief
See also: disservice, harm, misdoing
Mentioned in ?
References in classic literature ?
Our affairs began to wear a new aspect, and the enemy, not daring to venture on open war, practised secret mischief at times.
Their connections were dissolved, their armies scattered, and a future invasion put entirely out of their power; yet they continued to practise mischief secretly upon the inhabitants, in the exposed parts of the country.
View in context
Take this herb, which is one of great virtue, and keep it about you when you go to Circe's house, it will be a talisman to you against every kind of mischief.
She will then be frightened, and will desire you to go to bed with her; on this you must not point blank refuse her, for you want her to set your companions free, and to take good care also of yourself, but you must make her swear solemnly by all the blessed gods that she will plot no further mischief against you, or else when she has got you naked she will unman you and make you fit for nothing.'
View in context
"If you found him a billet where I should like to see him," Surgeon-Major Thomson observed bitterly, "he would never do any more mischief in this world!
View in context
But the woman took off the great lid of the jar (3) with her hands and scattered all these and her thought caused sorrow and mischief to men.
And she, wrapped in mist, follows to the city and haunts of the people, weeping, and bringing mischief to men, even to such as have driven her forth in that they did not deal straightly with her.
View in context
About three quarters of a year after this separation, a new frolic took these rogues, which, together with the former villainy they had committed, brought mischief enough upon them, and had very near been the ruin of the whole colony.
View in context
"Confound these check-reins!" he said to himself; "I thought we should have some mischief soon.
View in context
"No," said the niece, "there is no reason for showing mercy to any of them; they have every one of them done mischief; better fling them out of the window into the court and make a pile of them and set fire to them; or else carry them into the yard, and there a bonfire can be made without the smoke giving any annoyance." The housekeeper said the same, so eager were they both for the slaughter of those innocents, but the curate would not agree to it without first reading at any rate the titles.
View in context
And yet, angry as they were, they sometimes broke into a loud roar of laughter, as if mischief and destruction were their sport.
View in context
If he isn't up to mischief, what does he need all these things for - private telegraph line, private telephone, private wireless?
View in context

Legal browser ?
Full browser ?