epistolary
Americanadjective
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contained in or carried on by letters.
an epistolary friendship.
-
of, relating to, or consisting of letters.
adjective
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relating to, denoting, conducted by, or contained in letters
-
(of a novel or other work) constructed in the form of a series of letters
Other Word Forms
- unepistolary adjective
Etymology
Origin of epistolary
First recorded in 1620–30; from Late Latin epistolārius, from Latin epistolāris “of, belonging to a letter; pertaining to letter writing”; epistle, -ar 1
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.
In last year’s Bob Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” Dylan and Johnny Cash appear together on screen just twice, after a long epistolary bromance.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025
The main character’s epistolary obsession with a man named Dick warps into a kind of “performative philosophy,” an activity that perhaps all of Kraus’ novels are engaged in.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2024
Barth also challenged literary conventions in his 1979 epistolary novel “Letters,” in which characters from his first six novels wrote to each other, and he inserted himself as a character as well.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 2, 2024
He has an epistolary gift for writing much but saying little.
From New York Times • Dec. 5, 2022
Every conversational and epistolary road sign and guide- post that she had held up before the girls pointed to their father’s final, terrible failure.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Definitions 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.
