Definitions for captive
ˈkæp tɪvcap·tive

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. prisoner, captivenoun

   a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war

2. captivenoun

   an animal that is confined

3. captiveadjective

   a person held in the grip of a strong emotion or passion

4. captive, confined, imprisoned, jailedadjective

   being in captivity

5. captive, absorbed, engrossed, enwrapped, intent, wrappedadjective

   giving or marked by complete attention to

   "that engrossed look or rapt delight"; "then wrapped in dreams"; "so intent on this fantastic...narrative that she hardly stirred"- Walter de la Mare; "rapt with wonder"; "wrapped in thought"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. captivenoun

   a person who has been captured or is otherwise confined

2. captivenoun

   a person held prisoner

3. captiveadjective

   held prisoner; not free; confined

4. Etymology: Ultimately from captivus.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Captiveadjective

   Made prisoner in war; kept in bondage or confinement.

   Etymology: captivus, Lat.

   But fate forbids; the Stygian floods oppose,
   And with nine circling streams the captive souls inclose. John Dryden, Æn. vi.

2. CAPTIVEnoun

   Etymology: captif, Fr. captivus, Lat.

   1. One taken in war; a prisoner to an enemy.

   You have the captives,
   Who were the opposites of this day’s strife. William Shakespeare, K. Lear.

   This is no other than that forced respect a captive pays to his conquerour, a slave to his lord. John Rogers.

   Free from shame
   Thy captives: I ensure the penal claim. Alexander Pope, Odyssey.

   2. It is used with to before the captor.

   If thou say Antony lives, ’tis well,
   Or friends with Cæsar, or not captive to him. William Shakespeare.

   My mother, who the royal sceptre sway’d,
   Was captive to the cruel victor made. Dryden.

   3. One charmed, or ensnared by beauty or excellence.

   My woman’s heart
   Grossly grew captive to his honey words. William Shakespeare, Richard III.

3. To Captiveverb

   To take prisoner; to bring into a condition of servitude.

   Etymology: from the noun.

   But being all defeated save a few,
   Rather than fly, or be captiv’d, herself she slew. Fairy Q. b. ii.

   Oft leavest them to hostile sword
   Of heathen and profane, their carcasses
   To dogs and fowls a prey, or else captiv’d. John Milton, Agonist.

   What further fear of danger can there be?
   Beauty, which captives all things, sets me free. Dryden.

   Still lay the god: the nymph surpriz’d,
   Yet, mistress of herself, devis’d,
   How she the vagrant might inthral,
   And captive him, who captives all. Matthew Prior.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Captivenoun

   a prisoner taken by force or stratagem, esp., by an enemy, in war; one kept in bondage or in the power of another

2. Captivenoun

   one charmed or subdued by beaty, excellence, or affection; one who is captivated

3. Captiveadjective

   made prisoner, especially in war; held in bondage or in confinement

4. Captiveadjective

   subdued by love; charmed; captivated

5. Captiveadjective

   of or pertaining to bondage or confinement; serving to confine; as, captive chains; captive hours

6. Captiveverb

   to take prisoner; to capture

7. Etymology: [L. captivus, fr. capere to take: cf. F. captif. See Caitiff.]

FreebaseRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Captive

   Captive is a science fiction role-playing video game released by Mindscape in 1990. A Dungeon Master "clone", it featured pseudo 3D realtime graphics from a first-person perspective. The player characters are androids operated remotely by a prisoner trying to free himself. The player assumes the role of the prisoner, and the game involves visiting and destroying a series of bases on different planets. It was released on Amiga, Atari ST and PC platforms.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Captive

   kap′tiv, n. one taken: a prisoner of war: one kept in bondage.—adj. taken, or kept prisoner in war; charmed or subdued by anything.—ns. Cap′tivaunce (Spens.), captivity; Captiv′ity; Cap′tor, one who takes a prisoner or a prize; Cap′ture, the act of taking: the thing taken: an arrest.—v.t. to take as a prize: to take by force. [L. captivus—capĕre, captum.]

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. captive

   A prisoner of war.

Military Dictionary and GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. captive

   A prisoner taken by force or stratagem in war, by an enemy; made prisoner, especially in war; kept in bondage or confinement.

Matched Categories

1. • Animal

How to pronounce captive?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say captive in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of captive in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of captive in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of captive in a Sentence

1. Philippines President Benigno Aquino:

   We strongly condemn the brutal and senseless murder of Mr. Robert Hall, a Canadian national, after being held captive by the Abu Sayyaf group in Sulu for the past nine months.

2. Charlie Crist:

   Abusive conservatorships can be an unending nightmare, and tragically we don’t know how many people are being held captive against their will under the broken guardianship system, under the FREE Act, we would Free Britney along with the countless number of seniors and persons with disabilities being abused and exploited by the broken system.

3. Keith McCoy:

   Because they're a captive audience. They know they need The Exxon lobbyist and I need them.

4. Antony Blinken:

   The families of Americans who are held captive abroad, we know that they also face incredible hardship, we remain in regular contact with these families, we are grateful for their partnership, we are grateful for their feedback – we continue to work to ensure we are communicating and sharing information with them in a way that is useful.

5. Mike McCarter:

   This election proves that rural Oregon wants out of Oregon, if Oregon really believes in liberal values such as self-determination, the Legislature wo n’t hold our counties captive against our will. If we’re allowed to vote for which government officials we want, we should be allowed to vote for which government we want as well.

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