captive

American  

[kap-tiv] / ˈkæp tɪv /

noun

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

• noncaptive adjective
• pseudocaptive adjective

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 ( -ive )

Example Sentences

And at first the news over the radio and the news in our captive press was much the same.

From Literature

Thomas Broughton’s vivid text zeroes in on the last days of the hero Hercules, who returns victorious from war with a string of captives.

From The Wall Street Journal

Ehrlich’s life is a lesson that brilliant men can become captive to bad ideas that become intellectual fashion and do great harm.

From The Wall Street Journal

Torak guessed that she was wondering how her clan would punish her for helping their captive escape.

From Literature

The case claims the shop built into the PlayStation's operating system was designed to make players a "captive class".

From BBC

Related Words

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