Adjacent Words

Captive definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CAPTIVE, n.
1. A prisoner taken by force or stratagem in war, by an enemy; followed by to; as a captive to the victor.
2. One who is charmed or subdued by beauty or excellence; one whose affections are seized, or who is held by strong ties of love.
3. One who is ensnared by love or flattery, or by wiles. 2 Tim
2:26.
4. A slave. Anciently captives were enslaved by their conquerors. But in modern times, they are not made slaves in Christian countries; and the word captive, in a literal sense, rarely signifies a slave.
CAPTIVE, v.t. To take prisoner; to bring into subjection.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: being in captivity [syn: captive, confined, imprisoned, jailed]
2: 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" [syn: captive, absorbed, engrossed, enwrapped, intent, wrapped] n
1: a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war [syn: prisoner, captive]
2: an animal that is confined
3: a person held in the grip of a strong emotion or passion

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin captivus, from captus, past participle of capere Date: 14th century 1. a. taken and held as or as if a prisoner of war b. (1) kept within bounds ; confined (2) of or relating to captive animals <captive breeding> 2. held under control of another but having the appearance of independence; especially owned or controlled by another concern and operated for its needs rather than for an open market <a captive mine> 3. being such involuntarily because of a situation that makes free choice or departure difficult <the airline passengers were a captive audience> • captive noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. a person or animal that has been taken prisoner or confined. --adj. 1 a taken prisoner. b kept in confinement or under restraint. 2 a unable to escape. b in a position of having to comply (captive audience; captive market). 3 of or like a prisoner (captive state). Phrases and idioms: captive balloon a balloon held by a rope from the ground. Etymology: ME f. L captivus f. capere capt- take

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Captive Cap"tive, n. [L. captivus, fr. capere to take: cf. F. captif. See Caitiff.] 1. A prisoner taken by force or stratagem, esp., by an enemy, in war; one kept in bondage or in the power of another. Then, when I am thy captive, talk of chains. --Milton. 2. One charmed or subdued by beaty, excellence, or affection; one who is captivated.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Captive Cap"tive, a. 1. Made prisoner, especially in war; held in bondage or in confinement. A poor, miserable, captive thrall. --Milton. 2. Subdued by love; charmed; captivated. Even in so short a space, my wonan's heart Grossly grew captive to his honey words. --Shak. 3. Of or pertaining to bondage or confinement; serving to confine; as, captive chains; captive hours.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Captive Cap"tive, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Captived; p. pr. & vb. n. Captiving.] To take prisoner; to capture. Their inhabitans slaughtered and captived. --Burke.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(captives) 1. A captive person or animal is being kept imprisoned or enclosed. (LITERARY) Her heart had begun to pound inside her chest like a captive animal. ADJ • A captive is someone who is captive. He described the difficulties of surviving for four months as a captive. = prisoner N-COUNT 2. 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. We all performed action songs, sketches and dances before a captive audience of parents and patrons... Airlines consider business travellers a captive market. ADJ: ADJ n 3. If you take someone captive or hold someone captive, you take or keep them as a prisoner. Richard was finally released on February 4, one year and six weeks after he'd been taken captive... PHRASE: V inflects

Easton's Bible Dictionary

one taken in war. Captives were often treated with great cruelty and indignity (1 Kings 20:32; Josh. 10:24; Judg. 1:7; 2 Sam. 4:12; Judg. 8:7; 2 Sam. 12:31; 1 Chr. 20:3). When a city was taken by assault, all the men were slain, and the women and children carried away captive and sold as slaves (Isa. 20; 47:3; 2 Chr. 28:9-15; Ps. 44:12; Joel 3:3), and exposed to the most cruel treatment (Nah. 3:10; Zech. 14:2; Esther 3:13; 2 Kings 8:12; Isa. 13:16, 18). Captives were sometimes carried away into foreign countries, as was the case with the Jews (Jer. 20:5; 39:9, 10; 40:7).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

kap'-tiv (shebhi, galah; aichmalotos and its derivatives): The frequent references in the Old Testament to captives as men forcibly deported (from the Hebrew root shabhah) or inhabiting a land foreign to them (from Hebrew galah) reflect the universal practice of the ancient world. The treatment of captives was sometimes barbarous (2Sa 8:2) but not always so (2Ki 6:21,22).

See further under ASSIR and WAR.

Figurative: Except in Job 42:10 the figurative use of the idea is confined to the New Testament, where reference is made to the triumphal reign of the Lord Jesus (Lu 4:18; Eph 4:8), or, on the other hand, to the power of the devil (2Ti 2:26), or of false teachers (2Ti 3:6); compare also Ro 7:23; 2Co 10:5.

See CAPTIVITY.

F. K. Farr

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Prisoner.

Moby Thesaurus

POW, bond, bondmaid, bondman, bondslave, bondsman, bondswoman, caged, cageling, catch, chain gang, chattel, chattel slave, churl, con, concubine, confined, conquest, convict, coquette, date, debt slave, detainee, detenu, disenfranchised, enslaved, enthralled, ex-convict, flirt, galley slave, gaolbird, helot, homager, honey, hostage, imprisoned, in bondage, in bonds, in captivity, in chains, in slavery, in subjection, incarcerated, internee, jailbird, liege, liege man, liege subject, lifer, locked up, odalisque, oppressed, parolee, peon, political prisoner, prisoner, prisoner of war, serf, servant, slave, steady, stir bird, subject, subjected, subjugated, suppressed, sweet patootie, sweetheart, sweetie, theow, thrall, ticket-of-leave man, ticket-of-leaver, trusty, under the heel, under the lash, unfree, vamp, vampire, vassal, villein