captivating
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Derived 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.
If the internet rumor mill is to be believed, there’s no way that 20-year-old Kane Parsons actually directed his captivating debut feature, “Backrooms.”
From Salon • May 30, 2026
Especially captivating is the chance to watch these artists embrace their materials’ inherent qualities to explore the extremes of formal experimentation.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
Plenty of other performers get strong support, including “Seven Kingdoms’ ” 11-year-old Dexter Sol Ansell, who Lorraine Ali says made his show “a captivating watch.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
A captivating obituary doesn’t just summarize one’s life.
From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026
No single feature was right in itself and yet, when they were taken all together, something captivating emerged.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
