as in prisoners
one that has been taken and held in confinement
the captives in the concentration camp had devised a daring plan of escape
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Recent Examples of captives
While all colonial enslavers were anxious about the possibility of poisoning plots in general, other, more local, even personal, concerns existed, such as an enslaver’s fear that one of his captives might try to hasten his death by putting something toxic in his food.
—
Literary Hub, 5 Jan. 2026
The captives have already exited the scene.
—James Meyer, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
Russian soldiers in Ukraine have long been accused by Kyiv and international rights groups of torturing captives.
—CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
In Empire City, when a hostage crisis erupts inside New York’s landmark Clybourn Building, firefighter Rhett (Butler), his squad, and his NYPD wife Dani (Atwell) must fight and navigate their way through the building to rescue the captives.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 6 Nov. 2025
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the bodies did not belong to any of the remaining captives.
—Doha Madani, NBC news, 2 Nov. 2025
Hamas committed to returning all living and deceased captives being held in the strip as part of the ceasefire deal reached earlier this month.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2025
After two years of relentless violence, a fragile and uncertain ceasefire has settled over Gaza, bringing joyous scenes of Israeli captives reuniting with their families and of Palestinian prisoners returning home after years of detention.
—Lydia Polgreen, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025
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
Literary Hub, 5 Jan. 2026
The captives have already exited the scene.
—James Meyer, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
Russian soldiers in Ukraine have long been accused by Kyiv and international rights groups of torturing captives.
—CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
In Empire City, when a hostage crisis erupts inside New York’s landmark Clybourn Building, firefighter Rhett (Butler), his squad, and his NYPD wife Dani (Atwell) must fight and navigate their way through the building to rescue the captives.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 6 Nov. 2025
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the bodies did not belong to any of the remaining captives.
—Doha Madani, NBC news, 2 Nov. 2025
Hamas committed to returning all living and deceased captives being held in the strip as part of the ceasefire deal reached earlier this month.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2025
After two years of relentless violence, a fragile and uncertain ceasefire has settled over Gaza, bringing joyous scenes of Israeli captives reuniting with their families and of Palestinian prisoners returning home after years of detention.
—Lydia Polgreen, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captives
prisoners
Noun
-
But as of Saturday, only 11 people had been released, up from nine a day prior, according to Foro Penal, an advocacy group for prisoners based in Caracas.—
Regina Garcia Cano,
Fortune,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Human rights organizations say only 11 prisoners have been released so far — less than 1% of the total.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
10 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Captives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captives. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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