mischievousness

mis·chie·vous·ness
M3I1S1C3H4I1E1V4O1U1S1N1E1S1S1
/ˈmɪst͡ʃɪvəsnəs/

noun

The characteristic of being mischievous; the tendency to make mischief.

Similar
naughtinessbadnessimpishnesspuckishnesswhimsicalitymischiefmischief-makingdeviltry
Scrabble 25
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounmischievousness (countable and uncountable, plural mischievousnesses)

plural mischievousnesses

  1. countableuncountableThe characteristic of being mischievous; the tendency to make mischief.

    Up to the recent accident, which is attributed to the mischievousness of someone in releasing safety devices on the wagon, the railway has enjoyed an accident-free record.

    1946 November and December, “Notes and News: An American Mountain Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 382

Synonyms & antonyms

nounan attribute of mischievous children

Similar
naughtinessbadness
Broader
disobedience

nounthe trait of behaving like an imp

Similar
impishnesspuckishnesswhimsicality
Broader
playfulnessfun

nounreckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others

Similar
mischiefmischief-makingdeviltrydevilrydevilmentrascalityrogueryroguishnessshenanigan
Broader
misbehaviormisbehaviourmisdeed
Also see
badnessdevilmentdevilrydeviltryimpishnessmalignitymischiefmonkey businessnaughtinesspuckishnessrascalityrogueryroguishnessshenaniganwhimsicalitywrong

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From mischievous + -ness.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish pahankurisuus, vallattomuus
  • pahankurisuuscharacteristic of being mischievous
  • vallattomuuscharacteristic of being mischievous
Irish diabhlaíocht
  • diabhlaíochtcharacteristic of being mischievous
Polish psotność, figlarność
  • psotnośćcharacteristic of being mischievous
  • figlarnośćcharacteristic of being mischievous
  • szelmowskośćcharacteristic of being mischievous
Portuguese safadeza, sacanagem
  • safadezacharacteristic of being mischievous
  • sacanagemcharacteristic of being mischievous
Tamil லொள்ளு
  • லொள்ளு (loḷḷu)characteristic of being mischievous
Cite this entry
APA

mischievousness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mischievousness

MLA

“mischievousness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mischievousness. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mischievousness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mischievousness.

Source: mischievousness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.