captive
Americannoun
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a prisoner.
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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
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.
"Our data provide important information of which pathogens native snakes may likely have but also which they are likely naïve to. This can inform actions needed to prevent pathogen spillover from captive snakes," Mishin concluded.
From Science Daily • May 26, 2026
The companies worth owning are those with contracted demand, captive supply chain, or irreplaceable positions in the physical infrastructure that no amount of software optimization can eliminate.
From MarketWatch • May 11, 2026
Parents find their kids captive to the video streaming site on their school-issued devices; for one, it was 13,000 YouTube videos in three months.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
In February, President Volodymyr Zelensky said 2,000 Ukrainian children had been brought back from Russia and Russian-occupied territories, but that thousands more remained "captive."
From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026
Held captive by his wife’s temper like an insect stuck on a pin, the baron squirmed and blushed until he finally turned to Edward Ashton.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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.
