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

SeaWorld has faced a number of challenges since the 2010s, many stemming from the intense public criticism over its captive orca breeding program, which the company ended in 2016.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

The second note was apologetic, saying that she had died while captive and was "buried in nature now."

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026

Three of the pair's offspring have since moved to other wildlife collections as part of the European Endangered Species Programme, which aims to maintain a healthy captive population of the species.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

The company has other features that make it an appealing buyout target, including robust cash-flow generation and a base of captive customers with DCC fuel storage tanks on their properties, according to Williams.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

“We can’t leave yet. Not while … not while the children of the Earth are still held captive by Nansi.”

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

“It’s using earthquake data to interpret North Korean nuclear tests,” said Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer of a nonprofit called Global Reach that focuses on American captives abroad and is working with Chen’s family.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Because the country had far less captives, they paid Karamanli $60,000, worth roughly $1.7 million today, but the yearly duties did stop, so there’s that.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

Two years ago, Ranaan set up a tent in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square and began offering support to the families of the captives held in Gaza.

From Barron's ● Nov. 28, 2025

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

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2025

He said it so often the other captives began to call him All-for-Joffrey whenever the guards weren't listening.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

Related Words

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