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
Sports franchises everywhere can be tacky, rapacious, incompetent, extortionate, and otherwise exploitative, but only because their customers, the fans, are essentially captives.
—
Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2026
The ministry identified the freed captives as Russian citizen Oleg Gret and Ukrainian citizen Yuri Yurov.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
As for the three other captives, Caldwell says at least two remain deeply scarred to this day.
—Namir Khaliq, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Alejandra, a Spanish-language radio DJ who had for years posted community events, news, and real-time weather alerts on her Facebook page, Explosion Latina NOLA, was now helping relatives of ICE’s captives navigate its detainee database.
—Daniel Brook, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
Immediately upon regaining control of the lowlands of São Tomé, the Portuguese dedicated scarce manpower and equipment to the resumption of sugar cultivation, the repair of the mills, and the terrorizing of new shipments of captives.
—Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
Assets were frozen, sanctions were threatened, UN resolutions were passed, but still the captives remained imprisoned.
—Bill Keane, Hartford Courant, 15 Mar. 2026
The exhibit addresses the Middle Passage, an especially fraught part of the Atlantic Ocean crossing where many of the captives died.
—Arkansas Online, 13 Mar. 2026
But women were among the captives who survived the Middle Passage.
—Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 2026
Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2026
The ministry identified the freed captives as Russian citizen Oleg Gret and Ukrainian citizen Yuri Yurov.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
As for the three other captives, Caldwell says at least two remain deeply scarred to this day.
—Namir Khaliq, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Alejandra, a Spanish-language radio DJ who had for years posted community events, news, and real-time weather alerts on her Facebook page, Explosion Latina NOLA, was now helping relatives of ICE’s captives navigate its detainee database.
—Daniel Brook, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
Immediately upon regaining control of the lowlands of São Tomé, the Portuguese dedicated scarce manpower and equipment to the resumption of sugar cultivation, the repair of the mills, and the terrorizing of new shipments of captives.
—Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
Assets were frozen, sanctions were threatened, UN resolutions were passed, but still the captives remained imprisoned.
—Bill Keane, Hartford Courant, 15 Mar. 2026
The exhibit addresses the Middle Passage, an especially fraught part of the Atlantic Ocean crossing where many of the captives died.
—Arkansas Online, 13 Mar. 2026
But women were among the captives who survived the Middle Passage.
—Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captives
prisoners
Noun
-
The bill would expand that curriculum to require prisoners to acknowledge the impact and trauma of their crimes.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Francis’ aim was to give prisoners hope and to remind them the church was with them, while also shining a spotlight on judicial abuses, overcrowding and other injustices.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Captives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captives. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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