as in letter
a message on paper from one person or group to another
the two old friends like to fire off missives filled with good-natured teasing and mock insults
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Recent Examples of missive
Each letter comes across as a set piece, a small achievement of style and tone: Vasari’s flowery, deferential missives to the duke, Maria’s youthful ardor and confusion, the overly pious cattiness of a nun.
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Chelsea Leu, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
The commander of the Israel Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, criticized the letter in his own missive published Friday.
—Tamar Michaelis, CNN Money, 11 Apr. 2025
Written in sparse, staggeringly candid English, Kwiatkowski’s missives take after both the band’s lyrics and Constantine’s translations of his own poetry.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 19 Feb. 2025
Scott Kelly, who skyrocketed to fame as a test pilot - first of jet fighters and then of the Space Shuttle - teamed up with two dozen other astronauts to send a missive to the leaders of the Senate space committee reviewing Isaacman’s anointment by the White House to head NASA.
—Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for missive
Chelsea Leu, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
The commander of the Israel Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, criticized the letter in his own missive published Friday.
—Tamar Michaelis, CNN Money, 11 Apr. 2025
Written in sparse, staggeringly candid English, Kwiatkowski’s missives take after both the band’s lyrics and Constantine’s translations of his own poetry.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 19 Feb. 2025
Scott Kelly, who skyrocketed to fame as a test pilot - first of jet fighters and then of the Space Shuttle - teamed up with two dozen other astronauts to send a missive to the leaders of the Senate space committee reviewing Isaacman’s anointment by the White House to head NASA.
—Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for missive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for missive
Noun
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Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.—
Eric D. Lawrence,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2025
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The letter was postmarked in London two days later, on April 12.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
30 Apr. 2025
Noun
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As a proud dad, the 38-year-old wrote his firstborn a sweet epistle to acknowledge his birthday.—
Elizabeth Ayoola,
Essence,
7 Feb. 2025
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One of the earliest witnesses to the spread of Christianity, the codex features the first epistle of Peter and the Book of Jonah.—
Lianne Kolirin,
CNN,
3 Apr. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Missive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/missive. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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