epistolary

[ih-pis-tl-er-ee]

adjective

1. contained in or carried on by letters.

   an epistolary friendship.

2. of, relating to, or consisting of letters.

epistolary

/ ɪˈpɪstələrɪ /

adjective

1. relating to, denoting, conducted by, or contained in letters

2. (of a novel or other work) constructed in the form of a series of letters

Other Word Forms

• unepistolary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of epistolary¹

First recorded in 1620–30; from Late Latin epistolārius, from Latin epistolāris “of, belonging to a letter; pertaining to letter writing”; epistle, -ar ¹

Example Sentences

In last year’s Bob Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” Dylan and Johnny Cash appear together on screen just twice, after a long epistolary bromance.

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Despite this epistolary “mind control,” Roberts soldiered on, landing his first TV gig in 1977 on the soap opera “Another World.”

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Cyrano’s verbal coaching and epistolary interventions provide a means for him to express all that is locked away in his heart.

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Barth also challenged literary conventions in his 1979 epistolary novel “Letters,” in which characters from his first six novels wrote to each other, and he inserted himself as a character as well.

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But the epistolary style of the book is used not to dish dirt or list grievances.

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