captive

American  

[kap-tiv] / ˈkæp tɪv /

noun

• captives
  plural

1. a prisoner.

2. a person who is enslaved or dominated.

   He is the captive of his own fears.

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adjective

1. made or held prisoner, especially in war.

   captive troops.

2. kept in confinement or restraint.

   captive animals.

3. enslaved by love, beauty, etc.; captivated.

   her captive beau.

4. of or relating to a captive.

5. 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.

captive British  

/ ˈkæptɪv /

noun

1. a person or animal that is confined or restrained, esp a prisoner of war

2. a person whose behaviour is dominated by some emotion

   a captive of love

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adjective

1. held as prisoner

2. held under restriction or control; confined

   captive water held behind a dam

3. captivated; enraptured

4. unable by circumstances to avoid speeches, advertisements, etc (esp in the phrase captive audience )

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncaptive
  adjective
• pseudocaptive
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• captives
  plural

Etymology

Origin of captive

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English or directly from Middle French, from Latin captīvus, equivalent to capt(us) “taken” (past participle of capere “to take”) + -īvus adjective suffix ( see -ive)

Explanation

A captive is something that has been captured and can’t escape, like a prisoner of war or a panda in a zoo. To be captured on the battlefield, and held captive is not so great, but captive doesn’t always describe things that are completely bad, like its synonym, hostage. If you fall in love you might say your heart is being held captive. Ideas that entrance you could be called captivating. Sometimes endangered animals are brought into captivity in order to breed larger populations, and then released into the wild.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

captive captives

By placing a tether around captive moths and projecting stars on the wall, researchers last year showed how Bogongs used the Milky Way.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

"It's hard for people to know – or rather not to know – what has happened to their loved ones, whether they're being held captive or have died, and where they died," he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

“This would have meant that she could never return to the life and freedom she deserved, even in a captive setting,” the organization stated.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

In a separate order, the top court on Tuesday ordered tighter welfare safeguards for India's more than 2,600 captive elephants, including ensuring medical records for each animal and regular health checks.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

It is necessary to write scientific papers for the benefit of other scientists doing field research in different parts of Africa or working with captive chimps.

From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall

Investigators showed former captives Naumenko’s photo, which they recognized.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

One sculpture transforms the European hero Robin Hood into an African bandit queen who raided slave traders and freed their captives.

From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026

Twenty living hostages and the remains of 24 deceased captives have been released, with four bodies remaining in Gaza.

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2025

After the start of the truce on October 10, Hamas returned the 20 surviving hostages still in its custody and began the process of returning the bodies of the dead captives.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2025

A thousand wildlings had been penned up beyond the Wall, the captives Stannis Baratheon had taken when his knights had smashed Mance Rayder’s patchwork host.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Related Words

• detainee
• hostage
• prisoner
• prisoner of war
• slave