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
Global capability centers and captives, particularly in India and other low-cost locations, have expanded rapidly.
—
Peter Bendor-Samuel, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Some captives had come down with smallpox during an epidemic in Lima and carried it home, spreading it to others.
—Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
Butler stars as Rhett, a firefighter who, alongside his squad and his NYPD wife Dani (Atwell), must fight and navigate his way through the building to rescue captives trapped inside.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2026
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 perch preciously on the head of a slave trader who looks straight ahead, indifferent to the others’ suffering.
—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
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
Peter Bendor-Samuel, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Some captives had come down with smallpox during an epidemic in Lima and carried it home, spreading it to others.
—Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
Butler stars as Rhett, a firefighter who, alongside his squad and his NYPD wife Dani (Atwell), must fight and navigate his way through the building to rescue captives trapped inside.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2026
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 perch preciously on the head of a slave trader who looks straight ahead, indifferent to the others’ suffering.
—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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captives
prisoners
Noun
-
Israel has released roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire deal, many of whom were seized by Israeli troops during the more than two-year war and held without being charged.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Authorities said the prisoners were allowed to meet with close relatives before the executions were carried out.—
Ashley Carnahan,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Captives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captives. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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