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

Her missives with Epstein, which the House oversight committee released Wednesday, were exchanged years after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 in a Florida state court to prostitution charges involving an underage girl. —Dan Mangan,eamon Javers, CNBC, 13 Nov. 2025

If Zhou was somehow confused about what the Lavely & Singer co-founder was trying to convey on Renner’s part, the lawyer reiterated his primary star power point in the three-page missive. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 11 Nov. 2025

Read’s lawyer Alan Jackson in the bombshell missive to Wu is calling for Cox to be placed on the Suffolk DA’s list of officers with credibility issues — known as the Brady list. —Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 27 Oct. 2025

These missives forced career civil servants, many of them furloughed, to become unwilling messengers for partisan ends. —Stephanie A, The Conversation, 15 Oct. 2025

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