missive

noun

mis·​sive ˈmi-siv 

: a written communication : letter

wrote a lengthy missive to her father

Synonyms of missive

• letter
• epistle

Examples of missive in a Sentence

She received yet another lengthy missive from her father.

the two old friends like to fire off missives filled with good-natured teasing and mock insults

Recent Examples on the Web

The recipient simply enters the password to see your important missive. — Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 24 Aug. 2026

A couple days ago, as the media frenzy continued, Wolff decided to release full letters that Harp had sent to Trump during his last Presidential campaign, missives that had reportedly alarmed the Secret Service. — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2026

Raskin opened the missive by acknowledging that Paramount has not responded to his four previous inquiries in the past 12 months. — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026

Fresh off Jensen Huang sharing an open letter supporting open source last week, and the quasi-response from Anthropic's Dario Amodei, a pair of fresh missives made the rounds Tuesday. — Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 29 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle French lettre missive, literally, letter intended to be sent

First Known Use

circa 1553, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for missive

• derisive
• dismissive
• emissive
• permissive
• submissive
• transmissive

Kids Definition

missive

noun

mis·​sive ˈmis-iv 

: letter entry 1 sense 2, message