mischievous
adjective
mis·chie·vous
ˈmis-chə-vəs 
ˈmish-;
nonstandard
mis-ˈchē-vē-əs
mish-
2
a
: able or tending to cause annoyance, trouble, or minor injury
b
: irresponsibly playful
mischievous behavior
mischievously
adverb
mischievousness
noun
Mischievous vs. Mischievious: Usage Guide
A pronunciation \mis-ˈchē-vē-əs\ and a consequent spelling mischievious are of long standing: evidence for the spelling goes back to the 16th century. Our pronunciation files contain modern attestations ranging from dialect speakers to Herbert Hoover. But both the pronunciation and the spelling are still considered nonstandard.
Synonyms
Examples of mischievous in a Sentence
In passing the test of killing itself if infected, cancerous or genetically mischievous, a cell by definition dies.
—
Matt Ridley, Genome, 1999
… Pedro Martinez, could be found in the dugout, usually wearing sneakers instead of spikes, his tongue flying about as fiercely as one of his mischievous fastballs.
—Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated, 11 Oct. 1999
Setsu grew, too, from a mischievous, laughing little girl into a gay, willful, pretty girl.
—Pearl S. Buck, The Big Wave, 1947
the children had been so mischievous that we had to pay the babysitter extra and then clean up the mess
punished for their mischievous tricks on the neighbors
Matt Ridley, Genome, 1999
… Pedro Martinez, could be found in the dugout, usually wearing sneakers instead of spikes, his tongue flying about as fiercely as one of his mischievous fastballs.
—Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated, 11 Oct. 1999
Setsu grew, too, from a mischievous, laughing little girl into a gay, willful, pretty girl.
—Pearl S. Buck, The Big Wave, 1947
the children had been so mischievous that we had to pay the babysitter extra and then clean up the mess
punished for their mischievous tricks on the neighbors
Recent Examples on the Web
Her mischievous blue eyes and sparkle are remembered with fondness.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Jan. 2025
There was a brief flurry of excitement this week when Coritiba, a club in the Brazilian second division, announced that Neymar would be signing for them, but that turned out to be the result of some mischievous scamps who hacked their website.
—Nick Miller, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
One shot even shows a mischievous animal sneaking into her hotel room and sampling the room service.
—Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 25 Dec. 2024
The 1990 comedy film written by Hughes and starring Macaulay Culkin as the mischievous Kevin McCallister would go on to be a blockbuster hit, and become a beloved Christmas classic leading to several sequels.
—Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mischievous 
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Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Jan. 2025
There was a brief flurry of excitement this week when Coritiba, a club in the Brazilian second division, announced that Neymar would be signing for them, but that turned out to be the result of some mischievous scamps who hacked their website.
—Nick Miller, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
One shot even shows a mischievous animal sneaking into her hotel room and sampling the room service.
—Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 25 Dec. 2024
The 1990 comedy film written by Hughes and starring Macaulay Culkin as the mischievous Kevin McCallister would go on to be a blockbuster hit, and become a beloved Christmas classic leading to several sequels.
—Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mischievous
Video
'Mispronunciations' That May Be Fine
'Mischievous,' 'nuclear,' and other words to pronounce with caution.
Dictionary Entries Near mischievous
Cite this Entry
“Mischievous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mischievous. Accessed 26 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mischievous
adjective
mis·chie·vous
ˈmis-chə-vəs
ˈmish-
ˈmish-
1
: harming or intended to do harm
mischievous gossip
2
: causing or tending to cause minor injury or annoyance
a mischievous puppy
3
: showing a spirit of mischief
mischievous behavior
mischievously
adverb
mischievousness
noun
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