captive
Syllables: cap·tive/ˈkæptɪv/
captive noun: one who has been captured or is otherwise confined.
Noun
captive (plural captives)
- One who has been captured or is otherwise confined.
- I envy not in any moods
The captive void of noble rage,
The linnet born within the cage,
That never knew the summer woods: […]1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXVII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 44 - When Timothy and Julia hurried up the staircase to the bedroom floor, where a considerable commotion was taking place, Tim took Barry Leach with him. He had him gripped firmly by the arm, since he felt it was not safe to let him loose, and he had no immediate idea what to do with him. The captive...1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC
- I envy not in any moods
- One held prisoner.
- One charmed or subdued by beauty, excellence, or affection; one who is captivated.
- A captive insurance company, a subsidiary of a company used as its internal insurer.
Adjective
captive (not comparable)
- Held prisoner; not free; confined.
- A poor, miserable, captive thrall.1671, John Milton, “(please specify the page)”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC
- Subdued by love; charmed; captivated.
- Even in so short a space, my woman's heart / Grossly grew captive to his honey words.c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
- Of or relating to bondage or confinement; serving to confine.
- captive chains; captive hours
Verb
captive (third-person singular simple present captives, present participle captiving, simple past and past participle captived)
- To capture; to take captive.
captive meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
captive in Hindi
- a person who has been captured
- बंदी bandī, असीर asīr
captive in Tamil
- சிறைப்பட்ட, சிறையாளி, தன்னக, தன்பயன், வரையுடை, கொண்டி
captive in Urdu
- a person who has been captured
- اسیر asīr, بندی bandī
captive in Bengali
- a person who has been captured
- বন্দী bondi
More languagesFewer languages
- captive in Malayalam
- തടവുകാരൻ, അടിമ
- captive in Kannada
- ಸೆರೆ, ಬಂದಿ, ಖೈದಿ, ಸೆರೆಯಾಳು
- captive in Punjabi
- ਬੰਦੀ bandī
- captive in Pashto
- اسير asír, بندي bandí
- captive in Tagalog
- bihag
- captive in Arabic
- أَسِير ʔasīr, أَسِيرَة ʔasīra, مَحْبُوس maḥbūs, مَحْبُوسَة maḥbūsa
- captive in Malay
- orang tawanan, tawanan
- captive in Persian
- اسیر asir, بندی bandi
- captive in Thai
- เชลย chá-ləəi
- captive in Vietnamese
- người tù binh
Examples of captive in a sentence
- They could charge a pretty penny as they had a captive audience.
- Register racks at checkout stands offer manufacturers a captive audience for their products in the retailer's store.
- Passengers on the plane are a captive audience.
Antonyms of captive
Forms of captive
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | captives |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | captives |
| present participle | captiving |
| past participle | captived |
| past | captived |
Origin of captive
Inherited from Middle English captif; derived from Latin captīvus, probably through a borrowing from a Middle French intermediate. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“seize, hold”). Doublet of caitiff.
Words formed from captive
Phrases with captive
Questions about captive
- What does captive mean?
- Captive means one who has been captured or is otherwise confined.
- What is captive in Hindi?
- Captive in Hindi is बंदी (bandī), असीर (asīr). See Captive meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is captive?
- Captive can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce captive?
- Captive is pronounced /ˈkæptɪv/.
- What is the plural of captive?
- The plural of captive is captives.
Words near captive in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: captive (page history and authors); captive (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); captive (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); captive (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਬੰਦੀ (Punjabi) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-captive.ogg.
Cite this entry: “captive.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/captive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.