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
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
David MurrayHe 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
Joseph Conrad2
: 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
Uwe E. ReinhardtCrescent 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
Mitch FrankSynonyms
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 WebAshlyn Messier, Fox News, 28 Apr. 2024
The captive breeding program Save the Tasmanian Devil has been producing a new population of cancer-free animals.
—Elizabeth Warkentin, Travel + Leisure, 27 Apr. 2024
The landscape around it lay newly barbed with cannon, mortars, and bombproof shelters, these installed by hundreds of captive workers whose labor was donated by their Charleston owners.
—CBS News, 26 Apr. 2024
During the holiday, when religious dinners known as Passover Seder are held, the Jewish community will be thinking this year of the hostages still held captive by Hamas and of other victims of the war.
—Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 22 Apr. 2024
For Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the call is personal: her 23-year-old son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, is counted among the Israelis still being held captive.
—Yasmeen Serhan, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
Months after he was taken captive, his son received a Telegram message from an unknown number with a picture of the old man.
—Kostiantyn Khudov, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
Huskins was held captive for two days and raped twice by her kidnapper.
—Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2024
In December, hostages released by Hamas during a temporary cease-fire recounted that they had been held captive inside one of Gaza's hospitals.
—Ruth Marks Eglash, Fox News, 30 Mar. 2024
Willem Marx, NPR, 27 Apr. 2024
Our hero naturally takes this as an opportunity to ask her whether she’s been working out rather than, oh, make demands for the nonviolent release of his captives.
—Michael Nordine, Variety, 26 Apr. 2024
Battered by 175 mph wind speeds, White and his wife rode out the storm inside a hurricane shelter with 120 captive, breeding pairs of parrots, protecting them from the storm.
—David Schechter, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2024
Many of these people — colonizers, native islanders and captives from distant territories — would not have had a common language.
—Carina Del Valle Schorske, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Hamas brutalizes children, abuses captives, steals food, fires its rockets indiscriminately, wears no uniforms, and hides behind schools, hospitals, and mosques.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 6 Apr. 2024
Hamas and other militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of about 30 more, after releasing most other captives during a November cease-fire.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 2 Mar. 2024
Har says the guards did not harass anyone physically, but the captives were most afraid for the 17-year-old girl.
—Daniel Estrin, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
The administration then pressed for longer-term truce proposals, including the 10-day halt in fighting during which women and children captives were exchanged.
—Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Jaycee Dugard Jaycee Dugard was held captive for 18 years.
—Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 28 Apr. 2024
The captive breeding program Save the Tasmanian Devil has been producing a new population of cancer-free animals.
—Elizabeth Warkentin, Travel + Leisure, 27 Apr. 2024
The landscape around it lay newly barbed with cannon, mortars, and bombproof shelters, these installed by hundreds of captive workers whose labor was donated by their Charleston owners.
—CBS News, 26 Apr. 2024
During the holiday, when religious dinners known as Passover Seder are held, the Jewish community will be thinking this year of the hostages still held captive by Hamas and of other victims of the war.
—Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 22 Apr. 2024
For Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the call is personal: her 23-year-old son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, is counted among the Israelis still being held captive.
—Yasmeen Serhan, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
Months after he was taken captive, his son received a Telegram message from an unknown number with a picture of the old man.
—Kostiantyn Khudov, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
Huskins was held captive for two days and raped twice by her kidnapper.
—Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2024
In December, hostages released by Hamas during a temporary cease-fire recounted that they had been held captive inside one of Gaza's hospitals.
—Ruth Marks Eglash, Fox News, 30 Mar. 2024
Noun
Hamas has released a video showing footage of two captives held in Gaza, as part of an effort to prove that the two men are still alive.
—Willem Marx, NPR, 27 Apr. 2024
Our hero naturally takes this as an opportunity to ask her whether she’s been working out rather than, oh, make demands for the nonviolent release of his captives.
—Michael Nordine, Variety, 26 Apr. 2024
Battered by 175 mph wind speeds, White and his wife rode out the storm inside a hurricane shelter with 120 captive, breeding pairs of parrots, protecting them from the storm.
—David Schechter, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2024
Many of these people — colonizers, native islanders and captives from distant territories — would not have had a common language.
—Carina Del Valle Schorske, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Hamas brutalizes children, abuses captives, steals food, fires its rockets indiscriminately, wears no uniforms, and hides behind schools, hospitals, and mosques.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 6 Apr. 2024
Hamas and other militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of about 30 more, after releasing most other captives during a November cease-fire.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 2 Mar. 2024
Har says the guards did not harass anyone physically, but the captives were most afraid for the 17-year-old girl.
—Daniel Estrin, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
The administration then pressed for longer-term truce proposals, including the 10-day halt in fighting during which women and children captives were exchanged.
—Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 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.
Dictionary Entries Near captive
Cite this Entry
“Captive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/captive. Accessed 4 May. 2024.
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