mischief

«mischief» in Mova's school dictionary: naughty behaviour that is usually playful and not very… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (mischief — uncountable)

meaning for a pupil

1) Mischief is naughty behaviour that is usually playful and not very harmful, like playing tricks. tree →

2) Mischief can also mean harm or trouble caused on purpose. tree →

3) A wish to tease or play tricks, as in "a look of mischief". tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories, children and animals "get up to mischief"; it tells the reader the character is cheeky and fun but causes trouble. In everyday life parents warn children to keep out of mischief. In the UK "Mischief Night" is a night of pranks in some places. Phrases: "get up to mischief", "keep out of mischief", "make mischief", "full of mischief", "a twinkle of mischief".

examples

• The puppy got into mischief and chewed my slippers. tree →
• Grandma gave us jobs to keep us out of mischief. tree →
• His eyes were full of mischief as he hid the teacher's chalk. tree →
• The twins are always up to mischief. tree →
• The goblins made mischief in the village every night. tree →
• She gave me a look of mischief before pouring water on Dad. tree →
• (formal) The rumours were spread to make mischief between the two families. tree →
• His hands are always kept in mischief. tree →

note

Uncountable: you say "some mischief", not "a mischief" or "mischiefs". Spelled "mischief", with -ief. The adjective is "mischievous", pronounced MIS-chi-vus with three syllables; saying "mis-CHEE-vee-us" with an extra syllable is a common mistake.

In the corpora

• The King decides that the Knave must have imitated someone's handwriting, and that not signing it proves he is up to mischief.
• You must have meant some mischief, or else you'd have signed your name like an honest man.»
• Twinkling eyes mean fun and mischief, so she is probably hiding a present.
• And Samson said unto them: 'This time shall I be quits with the Philistines, when I do them a mischief.'
• And David knew that Saul devised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest: 'Bring hither the ephod.'

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «mischief» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.