- 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.
Being in Midtown on the later side has its perks: Captivating sunsets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026
Captivating but confusing - what state is international rugby in?
From BBC • Nov. 25, 2025
Captivating images by Associated Press photographers show everyday Ukrainians taking up arms as civilian soldiers to repel a Russian invasion.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 27, 2022
Captivating the imagination of millions of readers worldwide, it has been translated into 60 languages.
From Reuters • Jan. 17, 2022
Captivating as a 'born,' a fortuitous, untrained content may be, trained content is of a finer type.
From Atlantic Classics by Various
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.
