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”; epistle, -ar ¹

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

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

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 17, 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

Gurney knew exactly what he was doing when he wrote “Love Letters,” a classic of the epistolary genre whose durability is due in no small part to its status as a magnet for celebrity casts.

From New York Times • Apr. 27, 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