epistolary

American  

[ih-pis-tl-er-ee] / ɪˈpɪs tlˌɛr i /

adjective

1. contained in or carried on by letters.

   an epistolary friendship.

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

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epistolary British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• unepistolary adjective

Etymology

Origin of epistolary

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

Explanation

Any correspondence, communication, or other text written in the form of a letter or series of letters is said to be epistolary. They've gone out of fashion now, but in the 18th and 19th centuries, the "epistolary novel" — written in the form of fictional letters to and from various correspondents — was all the rage. One of the most famous such novels is Bram Stoker's Dracula. Along with other things, like newspaper clippings and journal entries, the story is told through telegrams and letters exchanged between characters. Epistolary is related to the word epistle, a fancy term for "letter."

Example Sentences

Updike was falsely modest when he apologized to correspondents for his lack of epistolary talent.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

The main character’s epistolary obsession with a man named Dick warps into a kind of “performative philosophy,” an activity that perhaps all of Kraus’ novels are engaged in.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2024

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.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 2, 2024

Part of the problem is it’s an epistolary novel, a genre that’s effective because what characters hide is as revelatory as what they reveal.

From New York Times • Dec. 19, 2023

The main mutation was the growth of the ars dictaminis: a body of received wisdom about letter-writing that followed the classical canons of rhetoric and applied them in epistolary form.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith