captive Hear it!

captive Definition

cap·tive (kap′tiv)

noun

  1. a person caught and held prisoner, as in war
  2. a person who is captivated, as by beauty or love

Etymology: L captivus < captus, pp. of capere, to take: see have

adjective

    1. taken or held prisoner
    2. not able to act independently a captive nation
    3. ☆ obliged or forced to listen, whether wanting to or not a captive audience
  2. captivated
  3. of captivity
captive Synonyms

captive

modif.

  1. Confined

    restrained, imprisoned, incarcerated, in one's power; see bound 1, 2, confined 3, restricted.

  2. Captivated

    enthralled, enraptured, enchanted; see fascinated.

captive Synonyms

captive

n.

prisoner, bondman, convict, hostage; see hostage, prisoner, slave 1.

captive Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • redeem: It was the gaze, the ferocious, the triumph gaze, of the redeemed captive.
  • hold: The outlaws still held captive are then released by the hooded man.
  • breed: All of our livestock is captive bred or cultured by us!
  • carry: So Judah was carried captive out of its land.
  • lead: Noah was a perfect man, and Noah walked with God, and yet he was led captive.
  • remain: The man pointed a loaded pistol at the officer who remained captive for over an hour.

Adjective modifier

  • held: All needs of those held captive must be met.
  • fellow: His description of the courage and despair of his fellow captives is very compelling.

Modifies a noun

  • breeding: The Born Free Foundation joins the RSPCA call for captive breeding programs to end.
  • chimpanzee: This study looked at the effects of varying degrees of environmental enrichment on the behavior of captive chimpanzees.
  • pistol: Another method of stunning is the captive bolt pistol.
  • bolt: To stun cattle, a ' captive bolt ' pistol is used.
  • elephant: This was in response to the untimely death of Pole Pole, a young captive elephant.
  • primate: This study shows that captive primates can exhibit wild-type activity budgets.

Modifying Another Word

  • away: Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land.

Noun used with modifier

  • captivity: Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men ' .
  • civilization: There is a we love to service staffs aboard american civilization captives.

Used with adjective complement

  • carry: Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land.
  • hold: We can't be held captive by the massacre forever.
captive Quotes

Freeing hostages is like putting up a stage setöwhich you do with the captors, agreeing on each piece as you slowly put it together. Then you leave an exit through which both the captor and the captive can walk with sincerityand dignity.

—Waite,Terry (Terence Hardy)

When I am thy captive talk of chains, Proud limitary cherub.

—Milton,John