as in imprisoned
taken and held prisoner
the captive soldiers were treated humanely by the guards
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in prisoner
one that has been taken and held in confinement
the captives in the concentration camp had devised a daring plan of escape
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of captive
Tiana Denicola, Variety, 4 Nov. 2025
Mental health and immune response are affected by how animals are feeling—and, as the rash of stereotypies suggests, captive animals are not feeling well.
—Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Ben Smith, semafor.com, 24 Oct. 2025
As a result, around 1,600 Taínos across Hispaniola became captives—of these, 550 were sent to Spain and 650 given to settlers.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for captive
Adjective
Held captive in a shadowy basement, Michelle’s ordeal blurs the line between paranoia and revelation on Teddy’s remote ranch, where his hive of bees becomes a haunting metaphor for control.
—Tiana Denicola, Variety, 4 Nov. 2025
Mental health and immune response are affected by how animals are feeling—and, as the rash of stereotypies suggests, captive animals are not feeling well.
—Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Noun
The comments came as Israel and Hamas exchanged the bodies of captives, a key demand of the truce.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 24 Oct. 2025
As a result, around 1,600 Taínos across Hispaniola became captives—of these, 550 were sent to Spain and 650 given to settlers.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for captive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captive
Adjective
-
Trump’s decision to commute Santos’ sentence came after multiple friends and allies of the imprisoned ex-politician made appeals for his clemency, a senior White House official told NBC News on Friday evening.—
Kevin Breuninger,
CNBC,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Among the Continental soldiers taken prisoner at the Battle of Trois-Rivières in Quebec in 1776, for instance, eighty-nine of two hundred told their redcoat captors they had been born overseas.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Another, Alfateh Abdullah Idris, who goes by the nickname Abu Lulu, casually begins firing a Kalashnikov rifle down the row of prisoners.—
Nicolas Niarchos,
New Yorker,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Captive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captive. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share