missive
Americannoun
adjective
noun
-
a formal or official letter
-
a formal word for letter
adjective
Etymology
Origin of missive
1400–50; late Middle English ( letter ) missive < Medieval Latin ( littera ) missīva sent (letter), equivalent to Latin miss ( us ) (past participle of mittere to send) + -īva, feminine of -īvus -ive
Explanation
A missive usually refers to the old-school style of hand-written communication on paper (remember that?), but these days you also might hear an email called a missive. No matter how you deliver it, a missive is a message. The noun missive comes from the Latin word missus, meaning "to send." You may have heard the phrase, "fire off a missive," meaning a note, memo or dispatch that was written and sent with urgency and conveyed an important message. It might have been a missive sent from a commander to the troops, telling them of a change in the battle plan. Or, maybe it was an urgent love letter to the commander's wife back home, telling her to tie a yellow ribbon round the ole oak tree...
Vocabulary lists containing missive
Send a Message: Mit and Miss
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Born a Crime
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The curt missive reads: "We would be very grateful if you would be considerate enough to have the music played much more softly and stop at a reasonable hour."
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
The Gulf Co-operation Council – made up of representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait – also issued a missive condemning the attack.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
A missive from King Charles about the couple’s royal status has been leapt on by the British media as a sign of trouble ahead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
The Mississippi letter references a local judge, Carlos Palmer, who told The Times that he couldn’t recall what precipitated Gideon’s missive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
I could see Stan receiving an anonymous missive detailing my humiliating defeats, ending with the statement: don’t waste your time on him.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
