captive
pronunciation
How to pronounce captive in British English:
UK [ˈkæptɪv]
How to pronounce captive in American English:
US [ˈkæptɪv]
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- Noun:
- a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
- an animal that is confined
- a person held in the grip of a strong emotion or passion
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- Adjective:
- in captivity
- deeply moved
Word Origin
- captive (adj.)
- late 14c., "imprisoned, enslaved," from Latin captivus "caught, taken prisoner," from captus, past participle of capere "to take, hold, seize" (see capable). As a noun from c. 1400; an Old English noun was hæftling, from hæft "taken, seized."
Antonym
Example
- 1. Bank interest rates remain captive to the policy of regulated deposit rates .
- 2. Once bought , natural-resource firms can become captive suppliers of the middle kingdom .
- 3. The potentially dangerous creature in her arms is captive , for the moment .
- 4. Traditional universities , on the other hand , are captive of their faculties .
- 5. Only this month , french intelligence forces swung into action to free a captive in somalia , and 50 crack commandos achieved nothing but disaster .