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Synonyms

missive

American  
[mis-iv] / ˈmɪs ɪv /

noun

  1. a written message; letter.

adjective

  1. sent or about to be sent, especially of a letter from an official source.

missive British  
/ ˈmɪsɪv /

noun

  1. a formal or official letter

  2. a formal word for letter

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. rare sent or intended to be sent

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of missive

1400–50; late Middle English ( letter ) missive < Medieval Latin ( littera ) missīva sent (letter), equivalent to Latin miss ( us ) (past participle of mittere to send) + -īva, feminine of -īvus -ive

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.

This, we learn, is the man who sent that pocketed missive of the prologue; how it made its way to Kornyev is a miracle at which Mr. Loznitsa leaves us to marvel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

“Anthropic serves an expensive product to rich people,” Altman wrote elsewhere in his 420-word missive.

From Slate • Feb. 10, 2026

We know that because after Streeting's gambit, a missive was sent around government by the Cabinet Office ordering them not to.

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026

For their final holiday missive, the individual members once again recorded their contributions separately and sent them to Kenny Everett, who compiled them into this greeting.

From Salon • Dec. 23, 2025

“M. Minkoff has apparently responded to my missive with a rather frantic urgency. I told her off quite viciously.”

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.