captive
a prisoner.
a person who is enslaved or dominated: He is the captive of his own fears.
made or held prisoner, especially in war: captive troops.
kept in confinement or restraint: captive animals.
enslaved by love, beauty, etc.; captivated: her captive beau.
of or relating to a captive.
managed as an affiliate or subsidiary of a corporation and operated almost exclusively for the use or needs of the parent corporation rather than independently for the general public: a captive shop; a captive mine.
Origin of captive
1Other words from captive
- non·cap·tive, adjective
- pseu·do·cap·tive, adjective
Words Nearby captive
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use captive in a sentence
Like all great political art, it captured its era without being captive to it.
Movies are rushing to impact the election. Don’t ask whether they’ll work. Ask whether they’ll last. | Ann Hornaday | October 30, 2020 | Washington PostIt is also home to three small packs of captive-born wolves, a handful of injured raptors, and five American river otters.
These Bears Have a Job, and It's Destroying Coolers | Emma Walker | October 9, 2020 | Outside OnlineFor some it’s minted millions with captive audiences realizing that they really, really hate that couch and it’s finally time to replace it.
Sophie Hill on the changing face of retail and surviving 2020 | Margaret Trainor | September 17, 2020 | TechCrunchThe workers feel the tooting vibration and move to keep the other queens captive.
Quacks and toots help young honeybee queens avoid deadly duels | Sharon Oosthoek | September 14, 2020 | Science News For StudentsThis metric tends to keep B2B brands captive on this professional platform for its lead generation opportunities.
How to plan your social media strategy for any business | Sumeet Anand | June 24, 2020 | Search Engine Watch
Sabrine reports that the latest demands by ISIS militants are three prisoners for every captive soldier.
A Sunni-Shia Love Story Imperiled by al Qaeda | Ruth Michaelson | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt was once the most glamorous hotel in town, but in 1964, hundreds of European hostages were held captive in its rooms.
Question 9: If the female captive was impregnated by her owner, can he then sell her?
Their night takes an unexpected twist when they break into a home and discover a young girl is being held captive inside.
Nitehawk Shorts Festival: ‘Brute,’ a Twisted Take on Playing in the Dark | Julia Grinberg | November 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTEarlier this year, a mutual friend told me that Peter was being held captive in Syria.
The only thing that at all tended to shake this conviction, was the extraordinary poltroonery of our new captive.
The wee round wonders with their mystery of velvety colour are well fitted to take captive the young eye.
Children's Ways | James SullyAmerican vessels made occasional trips outside the Bay, and brought in captive sailing-vessels.
The Philippine Islands | John ForemanThe cities of the south are shut up, and there is none to open them: all Juda is carried away captive with an entire captivity.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousAnd he jerked his thumb towards the tower where mademoiselle was a captive, and where at night "Battista" was locked in with her.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
British Dictionary definitions for captive
/ (ˈkæptɪv) /
a person or animal that is confined or restrained, esp a prisoner of war
a person whose behaviour is dominated by some emotion: a captive of love
held as prisoner
held under restriction or control; confined: captive water held behind a dam
captivated; enraptured
unable by circumstances to avoid speeches, advertisements, etc (esp in the phrase captive audience)
Origin of captive
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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