# mischievous

Pronunciation: say "MIS-chi-vuhs" /ˈmɪs.t͡ʃɪ.vəs/

## Adjective

1. Fond of, or showing a fondness for, causing trouble in a playful way, such as playing harmless tricks or doing things one is not supposed to do.
   - Simple: Liking to cause small trouble for fun, like playing tricks or doing things you shouldn't.
   - _Before class, a mischievous student turned every chair to face the back wall._
   - _Her eyes had a mischievous sparkle that told me she was planning something._
2. Causing harm or damage; injurious to someone or something.
   - Simple: Causing harm or damage to someone or something.
   - _The judge warned that the new rule could have mischievous effects on families._
   - _The bank's directors warned that one mischievous rumor could undo years of public trust._

## Origin

Old French meschever combined mes- ("mis-") with chever ("to come to an end"), which came from chef ("head"). It gave Anglo-Norman meschevous and then Middle English myschevous or mischevous. Read on the surface, the word is mischief + -ous.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/mischievous (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).