captive
Americannoun
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a prisoner.
-
a person who is enslaved or dominated.
He is the captive of his own fears.
adjective
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made or held prisoner, especially in war.
captive troops.
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kept in confinement or restraint.
captive animals.
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enslaved by love, beauty, etc.; captivated.
her captive beau.
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of or relating to a captive.
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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.
noun
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a person or animal that is confined or restrained, esp a prisoner of war
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a person whose behaviour is dominated by some emotion
a captive of love
adjective
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held as prisoner
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held under restriction or control; confined
captive water held behind a dam
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captivated; enraptured
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unable by circumstances to avoid speeches, advertisements, etc (esp in the phrase captive audience )
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing captive
"Hitching a Ride"
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Beowulf vocabulary
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“Vaccine Controversy Shows Why We Need Markets, Not Mandates” by Ron Paul
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Perhaps the only thing that can be said with certainty about Kevin Warsh’s press conference following his first meeting as Federal Reserve chair this week is that he will have a captive audience.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 14, 2026
Working with longtime collaborator Christine Dahlin of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and researchers from Austria, Benedict examined vocal recordings from more than 880 captive parrots.
From Science Daily • Jun. 14, 2026
In contrast to Cricket, who skates along with no end plan, Olympia is a committed careerist, an artist who insists on a captive audience to justify her work.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
He stands up in the synagogue in Nazareth and proclaims release for the captive, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed.
From Salon • Jun. 5, 2026
Maybe she should have cut away essential feathers from his wings, but she couldn’t stand to think of him a captive.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
