Word Of The Week: Mischief

I am adding a new feature this week: The Word Of The Week. Every week there is some word that I either hear often or out of the blue that reminds me I can be a better and more interesting communicator. This is not about big words, it is about the right words.

This week's word is mischief. For context, at work this week I heard this word a lot! Yes, at work, at a enormous multinational behemoth corporation. I am working on a project that has ramifications about how people could potentially behave and therefore could incite mischief, which for a massive corporation could be a real problem. But, the word is also good for just getting into a little bit of trouble - but when you read the actual definition from Websters, it is much more malicious than that - who knew???

From Websters:
Main Entry:
mis·chief Listen to the pronunciation of mischief
Pronunciation:
\ˈmis-chəf, ˈmish-\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle English meschief, from Anglo-French, misfortune, hardship, from Old French meschever to come out badly, mes- + chief head, end — more at chief
Date:
14th century

1: a specific injury or damage attributed to a particular agent
2: a cause or source of harm, evil, or irritation ; especially : a person who causes mischief3 a: action that annoys or irritates b: the quality or state of being mischievous : mischievousness

From Dictionary.com
mis⋅chief
   /ˈmɪstʃɪf/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [mis-chif] Show IPA
–noun
1. conduct or activity that playfully causes petty annoyance.
2. a tendency or disposition to tease, vex, or annoy.
3. a vexatious or annoying action.
4. harm or trouble, esp. as a result of an agent or cause.
5. an injury or evil caused by a person or other agent or cause.
6. a cause or source of harm, evil, or annoyance.
7. the devil.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME meschef <>