Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [kap-tiv]
- /ˈkæp tɪv/
- /ˈkæp.tɪv/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [kap-tiv]
- /ˈkæp tɪv/
Definitions of captive word
- adjective captive A captive person or animal is being kept imprisoned or enclosed. 4
- adjective captive A captive is someone who is captive. 3
- adjective captive A captive audience is a group of people who are not free to leave a certain place and so have to watch or listen. A captive market is a group of people who cannot choose whether or where to buy things. 3
- noun captive a person or animal that is confined or restrained, esp a prisoner of war 3
- noun captive a person whose behaviour is dominated by some emotion 3
- adjective captive held as prisoner 3
Information block about the term
Origin of captive
First appearance:
before 1300 One of the 15% oldest English words
1300-50; Middle English (< Middle French) < Latin captīvus, equivalent to capt(us) taken (past participle of capere to take) + -īvus -ive
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Captive
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
captive popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 91% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
captive usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for captive
adj captive
- incommunicado — (especially of a prisoner) deprived of any communication with others.
- imprisoned — to confine in or as if in a prison.
- bound — Bound is the past tense and past participle of bind.
- confined — If something is confined to a particular place, it exists only in that place. If it is confined to a particular group, only members of that group have it.
- restricted — confined; limited.
noun captive
- hostage — a person given or held as security for the fulfillment of certain conditions or terms, promises, etc., by another.
- prisoner — a person who is confined in prison or kept in custody, especially as the result of legal process.
- prisoner of war — a person who is captured and held by an enemy during war, especially a member of the armed forces. Abbreviation: POW.
- slave — a person who is the property of and wholly subject to another; a bond servant.
- convict — If someone is convicted of a crime, they are found guilty of that crime in a law court.
adjective captive
- caged — A caged bird or animal is inside a cage.
- gaoled — to take into or hold in lawful custody; imprison.
- attentive — If you are attentive, you are paying close attention to what is being said or done.
- intent — something that is intended; purpose; design; intention: The original intent of the committee was to raise funds.
- spellbound — bound by or as if by a spell; enchanted, entranced, or fascinated: a spellbound audience.
Antonyms for captive
adj captive
- independent — not influenced or controlled by others in matters of opinion, conduct, etc.; thinking or acting for oneself: an independent thinker.
- disillusioned — to free from or deprive of illusion, belief, idealism, etc.; disenchant.
- uninterested — having or showing no feeling of interest; indifferent.
- free — enjoying personal rights or liberty, as a person who is not in slavery: a land of free people.
- loose — free or released from fastening or attachment: a loose end.
Top questions with captive
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See also
Matching words
- Words starting with c
- Words starting with ca
- Words starting with cap
- Words starting with capt
- Words starting with capti
- Words starting with captiv
- Words starting with captive