Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

captive

[kap-tiv] / ˈkæp tɪv /




Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

To give the species a fighting chance, genetic researchers have cloned ferrets from preserved tissue samples to introduce fresh genetic diversity into captive populations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

“The registration process often involves disclosing personal financial information. At the seminar, essentially, the salesperson is paying for a captive audience.”

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026

Hubbard's family and lawyers have said he was living in the Ukrainian city of Izium when he was taken captive by Russia in 2022.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

The closure of both the site's captive bird programme and guided school tour programme is part of wider WWT cost-cutting measures.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

“I’m a captive, sir. I couldn’t get away even if I had a safe place to flee to. From now on, I’m harmless, you can take my word for that.”

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

One sculpture transforms the European hero Robin Hood into an African bandit queen who raided slave traders and freed their captives.

From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026

Thomas Broughton’s vivid text zeroes in on the last days of the hero Hercules, who returns victorious from war with a string of captives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026

But somewhere along the line, economics was all but consumed by math, and things everybody had always known—that humans are fickle, emotional, bad at reasoning, captives of their prior mistakes, etc.—were forgotten or cast aside.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

Twenty living hostages and the remains of 24 deceased captives have been released, with four bodies remaining in Gaza.

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2025

Despite the blessing of a glorious summer day, the whole of Mossflower was doom-laden with an awful tension that threatened to burst upon the captives seated on the grass.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques


Vocabulary lists containing captive

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training