mischievous

[ mis-chuh-vuhs ]

adjective

1. maliciously or playfully annoying.
2. causing annoyance, harm, or trouble.
3. roguishly or slyly teasing, as a glance.
4. harmful or injurious.

mischievous

/ ˈmɪstʃɪvəs /

adjective

1. inclined to acts of mischief
2. teasing; slightly malicious

   a mischievous grin

3. causing or intended to cause harm

   a mischievous plot

Pronunciation Note

The word mischievous has three syllables, mis-chie-vous, with the stress on the first syllable: [mis, -ch, uh, -v, uh, s]. There is a common tendency to shift the stress to the second syllable and say or write the word as if there were an extra letter i after the v, turning it into a four-syllable word: [mis-, chee, -vee-, uh, s]. These alterations of the pronunciation (and sometimes even the spelling) may occur in part because in many English words ie is pronounced like ee, as in chief, in part because many words end with [-ee-, uh, s], spelled either -ious (as in devious ) or -eous (as in aqueous ), and in part because of confusion over where the second i in the word belongs. The Oxford English Dictionary reports that for some time in the evolution of the word—from about the sixteenth to the eighteenth century— mischievious was actually a fairly standard alternative spelling. Today, however, both the four-syllable spelling and the four-syllable pronunciation are generally regarded as nonstandard.

Derived Forms

• ˈmischievousness, noun
• ˈmischievously, adverb

Other Words From

• mischie·vous·ly adverb
• mischie·vous·ness noun
• non·mischie·vous adjective
• non·mischie·vous·ly adverb
• non·mischie·vous·ness noun
• un·mischie·vous adjective
• un·mischie·vous·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of mischievous¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English mischevous, from Anglo-French meschevous; equivalent to mischief + -ous

Example Sentences

Eliava, in contrast, was a mischievous charmer who pranked his friends, once dressing as a woman to flirt with d’Hérelle at a dinner party, and kept sketchy notes in the lab.

From Salon

He has rolled a giant grenade into the middle of the nation’s capital and watched with mischievous glee to see who runs away and who throws themselves on it.

From Salon

Labubu, her legion of fans will tell you, is female, the size of a cat and a tad mischievous.

From Los Angeles Times

The animal was "very funny and quite mischievous," she added, but ultimately "thought he was one of them".

From BBC

But in a statement, the head of Cameroon's civil cabinet said Biya was well and condemned the "mischievous individuals" speculating about the president's health and "eventual death".

From BBC

Related Words

• impish
• malicious
• naughty
• playful
• rude
• sly