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
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
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
Two other captives were women who had allegedly been romantically involved with Birchfield, the outlet reported.
—Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
Israel on Tuesday received the coffins of two hostages returned from Gaza through the Red Cross, as officials said the remains will be identified before being released to their families as the military vowed to keep working to bring home all remaining captives.
—Greg Wehner , Yael Halon, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2025
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
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
Two other captives were women who had allegedly been romantically involved with Birchfield, the outlet reported.
—Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
Israel on Tuesday received the coffins of two hostages returned from Gaza through the Red Cross, as officials said the remains will be identified before being released to their families as the military vowed to keep working to bring home all remaining captives.
—Greg Wehner , Yael Halon, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captives
prisoners
Noun
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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
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The numbers posted Saturday show the state has tested 339 prisoners, a fraction of approximately 95,000 inmates in the system.—
Shirsho Dasgupta,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Captives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captives. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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