mischievousness
mischievousness Lexical Profile
mischievousness Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The quality or state of being playfully troublesome, impish, or inclined to tease and prank.
"A glint of mischievousness in the child's eyes suggested he had hidden his sister's shoes."
The tendency or quality of causing harm, trouble, or injury, often in a reckless or malicious way.
"The judge noted the sheer mischievousness of spreading false rumors during a public crisis."
Word Nuance & Usage
Like its root adjective 'mischievous', this word is frequently mispronounced and misspelled with an extra syllable as 'mischieviousness'; standard English has only four syllables (MIS-chuh-vus-nis).
• Rhymes for mischievousness
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in English from 'mischievous' plus the suffix '-ness'. The root 'mischief' comes from Anglo-French 'meschef' (misfortune or bad outcome), derived from Old French 'meschever' (to come to grief).