mischief

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Behavior that causes discomfiture or annoyance in another.
2. n. An inclination or tendency to play pranks or cause embarrassment.
3. n. One that causes minor trouble or disturbance: The child was a mischief in school.
4. n. Damage, destruction, or injury caused by a specific person or thing: The broken window was the mischief of vandals.
5. n. The state or quality of being mischievous.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A harmful or troublesome event, circumstance, or contingency; an action or occurrence attended with evil or vexation; an annoying, frustrating, or hurtful state or condition of things; misfortune; calamity: used with much latitude of application: as, some one is making mischief; the mischief is that he cannot keep his temper.
2. n. The act, state, course, or disposition of causing annoyance, trouble, or harm; vexatious or injurious operation or tendency; the working of damage or disaster: as, the clouds bode mischief; what mischief is he up to now? often used in a kindly or playful sense, or for affectionate excuse: as, the lad is full of mischief, but not vicious.
3. n. One who or that which does harm or causes injury or vexation; a source of trouble or annoyance: as, that child is a mischief.
4. n. Annoyance, injury, or damage caused or produced; harm; hurt: as, to do mischief; irremediable mischief: now never used in the plural.
5. n. The devil. [Colloq.]
6. n. Synonyms Damage, Harm, etc. See injury.
7. To hurt; harm; ruin.
8. To come to harm or misfortune; miscarry.

Wiktionary

1. n. Harm or evil caused by an agent or brought about by a particular cause.
2. n. One who causes mischief. In a milder sense, one who causes petty annoyances. mischief-maker.
3. n. Vexatious or annoying conduct.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. Harm; damage; esp., disarrangement of order; trouble or vexation caused by human agency or by some living being, intentionally or not; often, calamity, mishap; trivial evil caused by thoughtlessness, or in sport.
2. n. Cause of trouble or vexation; trouble.
3. v. obsolete To do harm to.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
2. n. the quality or nature of being harmful or evil