captivate
Americanverb
-
to hold the attention of by fascinating; enchant
-
an obsolete word for capture
Other Word Forms
- captivatingly adverb
- captivation noun
- captivative adjective
- captivator noun
- uncaptivated adjective
- uncaptivative adjective
Etymology
Origin of captivate
First recorded in 1520–30; from Late Latin captīvātus (past participle of captīvāre “to take captive”), equivalent to Latin captīv(us) captive + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To captivate means to attract others, fascinating or enchanting them. Some people are able to captivate with wit and charm, others with physical beauty, still others with intelligence. Notice the similarity between the verbs captivate and capture. Both come ultimately from the Latin captus "taken captive." Still, while both words mean some sort of hold on someone, capture sounds harsh, as though a trap has been set, while captivate is a softer, more attractive word that suggests there might be a willingness to be caught. Robert S. McNamara, a former U.S. secretary of defense, said, "Coercion, after all, merely captures man. Freedom captivates him.”
Vocabulary lists containing captivate
The Diary of a Young Girl
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The Invention of Hugo Cabret
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The Boy Who Invented TV
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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.
Americans didn’t actually land on the moon last week, despite some congratulations to the contrary, and Artemis II didn’t quite captivate the full attention of a country distracted by global strife and gas pumps.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
Marked by its stark staging and ritualistic intensity, the work remains one of the most enduring interpretations of Ravel's best-known work and continues to captivate audiences worldwide.
From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026
There were TVs all over the place, playing whatever advocates could think of to try to captivate the attention of these kids.
From Slate • Feb. 2, 2026
These films, though less celebrated, underscored her ability to captivate audiences in diverse narratives.
From BBC • Dec. 28, 2025
She strung humorous stories along the road like a bright wash and tried to captivate us.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
