mischievous

/ˈmɪs.t͡ʃɪ.vəs/

//ˈmɪs.t͡ʃɪ.vəs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"mischievous" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mischievous” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,905. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,905
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
16
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Causing mischief; injurious.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mischievous · mischievous · English

mischievous · rank #23,905 · 16 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,905
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mink

Nearest frequency peer: mink (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “mischievous”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “mischievous” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for mischievous
PropertyValue
Headwordmischievous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈmɪs.t͡ʃɪ.vəs/
Letters11
Frequency rank#23,905
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mischievous”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).mischievouslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “mink” (#23,904), “misunderstand” (#23,906), “Mika” (#23,903). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mischievous” is #23,905. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around mischievous (IPA /ˈmɪs.t͡ʃɪ.vəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #23,905 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for mischievous, with forms such as "imschievous", "micshievous", and "miscchievous". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English myschevous, mischevous, from Anglo-Norman meschevous, from Old French meschever, from mes- (“mis-”) + chever (“come to an end”) (from chef (“head”)). By surface analysis, mischief + -ous. The correct English form is mischievous, spelled M-I-S-C-H-I-E-V-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Causing mischief; injurious.
  2. 2
    Troublesome, cheeky, badly behaved, impish, naughty, disobedient; showing a fondness for causing trouble in a playful way and liking to have fun by playing harmless tricks on people or doing things they are not supposed to do.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how mischievous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. ...; that good and bad actions at present are naturally rewarded and punished, not only as beneficial and mischievous to society, but also as virtuous and civious; ...
  2. On the whole, therefore, he concludes that the point of indulgence at which these self-passions or self-affections begin to be mischievous to the individual coincides with that at which they begin to be mischievous to society; ...

Etymology

From Middle English myschevous, mischevous, from Anglo-Norman meschevous, from Old French meschever, from mes- (“mis-”) + chever (“come to an end”) (from chef (“head”)). By surface analysis, mischief + -ous.

Synonyms

harmfulhurtfuldetrimentalnoxiousperniciousdestructiveharmfulbadly-behavednaughty

This word in other languages

pícaro(Español)espiègle(Français)boshaft(Deutsch)levado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imschievous
  • micshievous
  • miscchievous
  • mischeivous
  • mischhievous
  • mischieovus
  • mischievosu
  • mischievouss
  • mischievuos
  • mischievvous
  • mischiveous
  • miscihevous
  • mishcievous
  • misschievous
  • mmischievous
  • msichievous

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mischievous - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

imschievous2micshievous2miscchievous1mischeivous2mischhievous1mischieovus2mischievosu2mischievouss1
Edit distance from "mischievous"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mischievous"?
"mischievous" is spelled M-I-S-C-H-I-E-V-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɪs.t͡ʃɪ.vəs/.
What does "mischievous" mean?
As an adjective, "mischievous" means: Causing mischief; injurious.
What are common misspellings of "mischievous"?
Common misspellings include "imschievous", "micshievous", "miscchievous", "mischeivous", "mischhievous". The correct spelling is "mischievous".
How do you pronounce "mischievous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mischievous" is /ˈmɪs.t͡ʃɪ.vəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "mischievous"?
From Middle English myschevous, mischevous, from Anglo-Norman meschevous, from Old French meschever, from mes- (“mis-”) + chever (“come to an end”) (from chef (“head”)). By surface analysis, mischief + -ous. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mischievous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

marshmallow#23,897overarching#23,932pathologist#23,935preventable#23,950

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

hyperbolic16 variantsprovenance16 variantsenchanting16 variantsembankment16 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list