- present participle of captivate.
captivating
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of captivating
First recorded in 1670–80; captivat(e) ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. )
Explanation
The adjective captivating describes something that's completely enthralling and holds your attention. You might find a marathon of episodes of a TV show so captivating that you forget to eat dinner. When people are captivating, they're often very intelligent, attractive, charming, or otherwise fascinating. Something that catches and holds your interest is captivating, like a captivating mystery novel you just can't put down. In fact, this adjective comes from the Latin captivatus, "to take or capture," and early in its use, captivating had that literal meaning. Now it's only used to mean capturing interest.
Vocabulary lists containing captivating
A Doll's House
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Pay Attention! Synonyms for "Interesting"
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The Tale of Despereaux
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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.
Will Jordan scored twice to help New Zealand beat France as the inaugural Nations Championship opened with a captivating, nine-try thriller in Christchurch.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
The most captivating sidebar introduces Nellie Williams, the young upstate New Yorker whose disabled father won a printing press in a poker game.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Wood said the redesigned footwear altered Reid’s posture and movement, helping create a version of Lestat that she noted feels more volatile and more comfortable captivating a crowd than charming one.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
By contrast, “Liberation,” which was directed with captivating brio by Whitney White, left no doubts about the exceptional quality of the writing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
But publishers found the account less than captivating.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
