captivating
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of captivating
First recorded in 1670–80; captivat(e) ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. )
Explanation
The adjective captivating describes something that's completely enthralling and holds your attention. You might find a marathon of episodes of a TV show so captivating that you forget to eat dinner. When people are captivating, they're often very intelligent, attractive, charming, or otherwise fascinating. Something that catches and holds your interest is captivating, like a captivating mystery novel you just can't put down. In fact, this adjective comes from the Latin captivatus, "to take or capture," and early in its use, captivating had that literal meaning. Now it's only used to mean capturing interest.
Vocabulary lists containing captivating
A Doll's House
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Pay Attention! Synonyms for "Interesting"
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The Tale of Despereaux
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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.
The Pied Piper’s greatest power was not simply his ability to play a captivating tune.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026
Aside from the rebellious English rockers, Friday’s other highlights included one of punk’s most captivating frontpersons with Dani Miller showing why Surfbort is always a must-watch band.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
The film grossed $270 million worldwide on a $38 million budget, and Amy Madigan won an Oscar for best supporting actress for her performance as the equal-parts creepy and captivating witch Gladys.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Matt Hudson-Smith was fifth in the 400m, well off Botswana's world champion Collen Kebinatshipi, while Jake Hayward, running in his Wales vest, was eighth in a captivating 1500m race.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
That doesn’t mean she’s not attractive, though; tía has a captivating face, like all the Montenegro women.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
