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Mischief vs Mayhem - What's the difference?

mischief | mayhem |

As nouns the difference between mischief and mayhem

is that mischief is harm or evil caused by an agent or brought about by a particular cause while mayhem is a state or situation of great confusion, disorder, trouble or destruction; chaos.

mischief

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • Harm or evil caused by an agent or brought about by a particular cause.
  • One who causes mischief. In a milder sense, one who causes petty annoyances. mischief-maker.
  • Vexatious or annoying conduct.

    • Quotations

    * 1914–1915' "I fear this means that there is some '''mischief afoot." — Sherlock Holmes in ''.

    Synonyms

    * (evil) agitation, annoyance, corruption, damage, demolition, destruction, detriment, disablement, disruption, evil, harm, hurt, ill, impairment, incapacitation, injury, nuisance, pique, ravage, sabotage, scathe, trouble, undoing, unmaking, vexation, weakening, wrong * (mischief-maker) bad boy, booger, buffoon, bugger, cutup, devil, elf, enfant terrible, fun-maker, hell-raiser, hood, hoodlum, hooligan, imp, joker, jokester, knave, life of the party, little devil, little monkey, little rascal, minx, mischief-maker, pixie, practical joker, prankster, puck, rapscallion, rascal, rogue, rowdy, ruffian, scamp, scapegrace, thug, trouble maker, vandal, wag * (annoying conduct) bad manners, badness, delinquincy, devilishness, devilment, devilry, deviltry, disobedience, elfishness, goings-on, hanky-panky, impishness, impropriety, misbehavior, mischievousness, misconduct, misdemeanor, monkey business, naughtiness, prankishness, pranksomeness, puckishness, rascality, roguery, roguishness, scampishness * See also * See also

    Derived terms

    * malicious mischief * mischievous * mischievously * mischievousness * mischief-maker

    mayhem

    English

    Alternative forms

    * maihem

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • A state or situation of great confusion, disorder, trouble or destruction; chaos.
    • What if the legendary hero Robin Hood had been born into the mayhem of the 20th century ?
    In all the mayhem , some children were separated from their partners.
    She waded into the mayhem , elbowing between taller men to work her way to the front of the crowd.
    The clowns would dart into the crowd and pull another unsuspecting victim into the mayhem of the ring
  • Infliction of violent injury on a person or thing.
    • The fighting dogs created mayhem in the flower beds.
  • (legal) The maiming of a person by depriving him of the use of any of his limbs which are necessary for defense or protection.
  • (legal) The crime of damaging things or harming people on purpose.

    • Synonyms

    * (chaos) * (infliction of violent injury on a person or thing) * (legal) * See ,

    References