- present participle of captivate.
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.
He’s the most captivating element of the picture and I wished there’d been more of him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
It made for a captivating, see-sawing tournament opener that went down to the wire.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
But their attempts to match one another stride for stride remain captivating.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
Wood said the redesigned footwear altered Reid’s posture and movement, helping create a version of Lestat that she noted feels more volatile and more comfortable captivating a crowd than charming one.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
The song was as sweet as light shining through stained-glass windows, as captivating as the story in a book.
From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo
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.
