2 N‑UNCOUNT Mischief is behaviour that is intended to cause trouble for people. It can also refer to the trouble that is caused. □ Angry MPs have continued to make mischief.
mi schief-maker (mischief-makers ) N‑COUNT If you say that someone is a mischief-maker , you are criticizing them for saying or doing things which are intended to cause trouble between people. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ The letter had come from an unknown mischief-maker.
mis|chie|vous /m I stʃ I vəs/
1 ADJ A mischievous person likes to have fun by playing harmless tricks on people or doing things they are not supposed to do. □ She rocks back and forth on her chair like a mischievous child. ● mis|chie|vous|ly ADV [usu ADV with v] □ Kathryn winked mischievously.
2 ADJ A mischievous act or suggestion is intended to cause trouble. □ …a mischievous campaign by the press to divide the ANC. ● mis|chie|vous|ly ADV [usu ADV with v] □ That does not require 'massive' military intervention, as some have mischievously claimed.
mis|com|mu|ni|ca|tion /m I skəmjuːn I ke I ʃən/ (miscommunications ) N‑VAR A miscommunication is a failure to communicate effectively. □ Don’t let your marriage fall apart because of a simple miscommunication.
mis|con|ceived /m I skənsiː vd/ ADJ If you describe a plan or method as misconceived , you mean it is not the right one for dealing with a particular problem or situation. □ The teachers say the tests for 14-year-olds are misconceived. □ …Lawrence's worthy but misconceived idea.
mis|con|cep|tion /m I skənse pʃ ə n/ (misconceptions ) N‑COUNT A misconception is an idea that is not correct. □ There are many fears and misconceptions about cancer.
mis|con|duct /m I skɒ ndʌkt/ N‑UNCOUNT Misconduct is bad or unacceptable behaviour, especially by a professional person. □ Dr Lee was cleared of serious professional misconduct.
mis|con|strue /m I skənstruː / (misconstrues , misconstruing , misconstrued ) VERB If you misconstrue something that has been said or something that happens, you interpret it wrongly. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] An outsider might misconstrue the nature of the relationship.
mis|cre|ant /m I skriənt/ (miscreants ) N‑COUNT A miscreant is someone who has done something illegal or behaved badly. [LITERARY ] □ Local people demanded that the District Magistrate apprehend the miscreants.
mis|deed /m I sdiː d/ (misdeeds ) N‑COUNT A misdeed is a bad or evil act. [FORMAL ] □ …the alleged financial misdeeds of his government.
mis|de|mean|our /m I sd I miː nə r / (misdemeanours ) in AM, use misdemeanor 1 N‑COUNT A misdemeanour is an act that some people consider to be wrong or unacceptable. [FORMAL ] □ Emily knew nothing about her husband's misdemeanours.
2 N‑COUNT In the United States and other countries where the legal system distinguishes between very serious crimes and less serious ones, a misdemeanour is a less serious crime. [LEGAL ] □ She was charged with a misdemeanour, that of carrying a concealed weapon.
mis|di|rect /m I sd I re kt, -da I r-/ (misdirects , misdirecting , misdirected )
1 VERB [usu passive] If resources or efforts are misdirected , they are used in the wrong way or for the wrong purposes. □ [be V -ed] Many of the aid projects in the developing world have been misdirected in the past. ● mis|di|rect|ed ADJ □ …a misdirected effort to mollify the bishop.
2 VERB If you misdirect someone, you send them in the wrong direction. □ [V n] He had deliberately misdirected the reporters.
mi|ser /ma I zə r / (misers ) N‑COUNT If you say that someone is a miser , you disapprove of them because they seem to hate spending money, and to spend as little as possible. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ I'm married to a miser.
mis|er|able /m I zərəb ə l/
1 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you are miserable , you are very unhappy. □ I took a series of badly paid secretarial jobs which made me really miserable. ● mis|er|ably /m I zərəbli/ ADV [usu ADV after v] □ He looked miserably down at his plate.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe a place or situation as miserable , you mean that it makes you feel unhappy or depressed. □ There was nothing at all in this miserable place to distract him.
3 ADJ If you describe the weather as miserable , you mean that it makes you feel depressed, because it is raining or dull. □ It was a grey, wet, miserable day.
4 ADJ [ADJ n] If you describe someone as miserable , you mean that you do not like them because they are bad-tempered or unfriendly. □ He always was a miserable man. He never spoke to me nor anybody else.
5 ADJ You can describe a quantity or quality as miserable when you think that it is much smaller or worse than it ought to be. [EMPHASIS ] □ Our speed over the ground was a miserable 2.2 knots. ● mis|er|ably ADV [ADV adj] □ …the miserably inadequate supply of books now provided for schools.
6 ADJ [ADJ n] A miserable failure is a very great one. [EMPHASIS ] □ The film was a miserable commercial failure both in Italy and in the United States. ● mis|er|ably ADV [ADV with v] □ Some manage it. Some fail miserably.
mi|ser|ly /ma I zə r li/
1 ADJ If you describe someone as miserly , you disapprove of them because they seem to hate spending money, and to spend as little as possible. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ He is miserly with both his time and his money.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe an amount of something as miserly , you are critical of it because it is very small. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ Being a student today with miserly grants and limited career prospects is difficult.