All 5 Uses of
mischievous
in
Sweet Far Thing
- Some of the mischievous creatures tried to escape; others attempted to compromise our virtue.†
Chpt 1 *
- "She's mischievous," Mother Elena says.†
Chpt 1
- Such mischievous calling cards I have, I'm afraid.†
Chpt 3
- Mrs. Tuttle rushes for the ladies' dressing room, holding fast to her mischievous skirts.†
Chpt 4
- I search anywhere a mischievous rabbit might hide—in the berry baskets, under the moldy carpets, behind doors.†
Chpt 4
Definitions:
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(1)
(mischievous) playfully causing minor trouble; or describing the smile of someone doing soMuch less commonly, mischievous can reference real harm without any sense of fun. But in modern writing, that usage has largely shifted to other words like malicious, destructive, or damaging.
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(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
In law, mischievous references a property crime such as vandalism or graffiti. Very rarely, the word can reference someone or something causing serious damage.
In archaic literature mischievous often refers to bad behavior without any connotation of playfulness or of the harm being minor.