mischievous

adjective

mis·chie·vous ˈmis-chə-vəs

ˈmish-;

nonstandard

mis-ˈchē-vē-əs

mish-

Synonyms of mischievous next

: harmful, injurious

mischievous gossip

: able or tending to cause annoyance, trouble, or minor injury

: 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.

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

Recent Examples on the Web At first, Art seems shell-shocked by Sienna’s power, but soon regains his mischievous homicidal urges. —

Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024 Was it made, in other words, in innocence of its own mischievous purposes? —

James Parker, The Atlantic, 22 Oct. 2024 He’s got that incredible smile and those really mischievous eyes that instantly remind you of his father and are iconic. —

Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Oct. 2024 In all likelihood, reports of screaming, chanting and strange lights can be attributed to the sight becoming a popular destination for mischievous teens and vandals. —

Jess Joho, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for mischievous

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mischievous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.