captive

1 of 2

adjective

cap·​tive ˈkap-tiv How to pronounce captive (audio)
1
a
: taken and held as or as if a prisoner of war
b(1)
: kept within bounds : confined
(2)
: of or relating to captive animals
captive breeding
2
: held under control of another but having the appearance of independence
especially : owned or controlled by another concern and operated for its needs rather than for an open market
a captive mine
3
: being such involuntarily because of a situation that makes free choice or departure difficult
a captive audience

captive

2 of 2

noun

plural captives
1
: one who has been captured : one taken and held usually in confinement
Something there is in us that finds captivity captivating, particularly when the captives are prisoners of war.David Murray
He said that while one of the war-boats was being made ready to take the captives into the lagoon, he and his sister left the camp quietly and got away in their canoe.Joseph Conrad
2
: one captivated, dominated, or controlled
a captive to love
Unlike so many experts pronouncing on that subject today, though, he has never been a captive of a particular ideology or of a well-heeled interest group.Uwe E. Reinhardt
Crescent City residents love their culinary customs—too much, according to some critics, who complain that the city's chefs are captives of the past.Mitch Frank

Examples of captive in a Sentence

Adjective The captive soldiers planned their escape. the captive soldiers were treated humanely by the guards
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Levine Cava followed up with a letter in late January slamming the Seaquarium for what the U.S. Department of Agriculture said was unacceptable care for captive dolphins and other animals in the for-profit park. Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 7 Mar. 2024 The agencies also have to foster genetically diverse captive pups that survive for at least two years, or successfully release genetically valuable adult wolves. Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 5 Mar. 2024 The threat to remove bears from zoos that actively collaborate on research and captive breeding only hurts this endangered species. Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2024 That led police to the room where the woman was being held captive. Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 1 Mar. 2024 Bunce Island, where captive West Africans were held in a stone fortress before being forced onto slave ships for the deadly journey across the Middle Passage, served as the center of the region’s slave trade. Joshua Kagavi, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024 Navalny died in an Arctic Circle maximum-security prison where he had been held captive. Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024 Maybe you won’t be convinced that Casolaro’s trail leads to the October Surprise — the theory that argues Ronald Reagan cut a deal with Iran to keep U.S. hostages captive until after the 1980 presidential election, thereby making incumbent Jimmy Carter look weak and ineffectual. Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2024 About 100 people gathered outside St. Sophia's Cathedral in central Kyiv Saturday, calling for the release of Azov Brigade members who were taken captive by Russia after defending the southern city of Mariupol. Susie Blann The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 25 Feb. 2024
Noun
Hamas and other militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of about 30 more, after releasing most of the other captives during a November cease-fire. Wafaa Shurafa, arkansasonline.com, 1 Mar. 2024 Oleksandr said 45 of his colleagues became captives and 400 died there. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 23 Feb. 2024 In January, relatives of hostages broke into a parliamentary meeting to demand that the government try to free their family members, part of a battle between Israelis over whether the country should prioritize defeating Hamas or make a deal to free the remaining captives. Aluf Benn, Foreign Affairs, 7 Feb. 2024 In January, some family members stormed a meeting at Israel’s Parliament to demand that lawmakers take greater action to secure the captives’ release. Patrick Kingsley, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2024 In a meeting with families of the captives Tuesday, Netanyahu expressed dissatisfaction with the mediation efforts by Qatar, which has deep ties to Hamas leaders. John Bacon, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2024 So the mass moved a block north to the plaza in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, where a long rectangular table set for 234 people and surrounded by empty chairs had been installed to represent the captives. Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024 Officials from Qatar, along with Egypt and the U.S., have worked for months to secure hostage deals, including the weeklong cease-fire in November during which more than 100 captives were released. NBC News, 20 Feb. 2024 More than 100 captives, mostly women and children, were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Matthew Lee, arkansasonline.com, 7 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'captive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Latin captivus, from captus, past participle of capere

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of captive was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near captive

Cite this Entry

“Captive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/captive. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

captive

1 of 2 adjective
cap·​tive
ˈkap-tiv
1
: taken and held prisoner especially in war
2
: held or confined so as to prevent escape
a captive animal
3
: in a situation that makes free choice or leaving difficult
the airline passengers were a captive audience
captivity
kap-ˈtiv-ət-ē
noun

captive

2 of 2 noun
: one that is captive : prisoner

More from Merriam-Webster on captive

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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