captive

[ kap-tiv ]

/ ˈkæp tɪv /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR captive ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a prisoner.

a person who is enslaved or dominated; slave: He is the captive of his own fears.

adjective

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.

Nearby words

Origin of captive

1300–50; Middle English (< Middle French) < Latin captīvus, equivalent to capt(us) taken (past participle of capere to take) + -īvus -ive

Related formsnon·cap·tive, adjectivepseu·do·cap·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for captive

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|DAILY BEAST
This time the captive was forced to make a speech blaming the British government for his death.
ISIS Murder of British Hostage Likely to Draw UK Deeper Into New War|Nico Hines|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Italy has been known to pay ransom for its captive nationals in the past.
Families of Italian Aid Workers Held by ISIS Fear for Their Lives After Foley's Death|Barbie Latza Nadeau|August 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The oldest of the captive sisters was pretending to be the mother of the youngest girl, hoping they would be kept together.
Hanifa's Story: Her Five Sisters Taken by ISIS to Be Sold or Worse|Christine van den Toorn|August 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Asian slapstick humor does not translate well, and most of the captive audience agreed, although they grudgingly watched it.
Prisoners Get Cultural Fix with 8-Tracks and Bootleg Cassettes|Daniel Genis|August 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This was one of the two names that Hippy had heard mentioned when he was the captive of the mountaineers.
Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders Among the Kentucky Mountaineers|Jessie Graham Flower
Driven off thrice with gun-shots, would she make another try to feed or free her captive young one?
Lobo, Rag and Vixen|Ernest Seton-Thompson
I feigned love, whispered compliments, in short, so skillfully did I dissimulate that she believed I was Love's own captive.
The Satyricon, Volume 5 (Crotona Affairs)|Petronius Arbiter
They received his orders as coming from a captive, and disobeyed without even sending him a reply.
History of the Girondists, Volume I|Alphonse de Lamartine
“A splendid longicorn,” he said, fishing a pill-box from his pocket, and carefully imprisoning his captive.
Middy and Ensign|G. Manville Fenn

British Dictionary definitions for captive

captive

/ (ˈkæptɪv) /

noun

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

a person whose behaviour is dominated by some emotiona captive of love

adjective

held as prisoner

held under restriction or control; confinedcaptive water held behind a dam

captivated; enraptured

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

Word Origin for captive

C14: from Latin captīvus, from capere to take

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for captive

captive

adj.

late 14c., "imprisoned, enslaved," from Latin captivus "caught, taken prisoner," from captus, past participle of capere "to take, hold, seize" (see capable). As a noun from c.1400; an Old English noun was hæftling, from hæft "taken, seized."