ˌe-pi-ˈstȯ-lə-rē
The Times Literary Supplement (London)
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Epistolary was formed from the noun epistle, which refers to a composition written in the form of a letter to a particular person or group. In its original sense, epistle refers to one of the 21 letters (such as those from the apostle Paul) found in the New Testament. Epistle came to English in the 13th century, via Anglo-French and Latin, from the Greek noun epistolē, meaning "message" or "letter." Epistolē, in turn, came from the verb epistellein, meaning "to send to" or "to send from." Epistolary appeared in English four centuries after epistle and can be used to describe something related to or contained in a letter (as in "epistolary greetings") or composed of letters (as in "an epistolary novel").
Examples of epistolary in a Sentence
Judy Berman, Time, 14 Nov. 2025
So the months went: a sequence of vignettes, like an epistolary novel.
—James Marcus, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
The answer may or may not be English novelist Frances Brooke’s The History of Emily Montague, the story of an epistolary friendship between several characters, including the book’s namesake.
—JSTOR Daily, 18 Oct. 2025
Instead, Lee and Francis stayed up, poring over Dale’s epistolary diary.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for epistolary
Cite this Entry
“Epistolary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epistolary. Accessed 23 Nov. 2025.
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