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.
Instead, Tuesday is D-Day for the captivating Spygate story.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
When they first started hosting these events, Bowens wasn’t sure how captivating they’d be.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
It’s sure to be another captivating, completely irksome and bleak look into animal welfare exploitation that will, hopefully, prompt action.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
The hantavirus outbreak captivating the public began on the MV Hondius, an expedition-style cruise ship operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, a privately held Dutch company.
From MarketWatch • May 11, 2026
The song was as sweet as light shining through stained-glass windows, as captivating as the story in a book.
From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo
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.
