CAPTIVE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Captive

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/kˈæptɪv/ Listen

adjective

Captive adj.

Made prisoner, especially in war; held in bondage or in confinement. "A poor, miserable, captive thrall."

Subdued by love; charmed; captivated. "Even in so short a space, my wonan's heart Grossly grew captive to his honey words."

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

noun

Captive n.

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."

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

verb

Captive v. t. (past & past part. captived; pres. part. captiving) To take prisoner; to capture. "Their inhabitans slaughtered and captived."

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Etymology of 'Captive'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Captive" Quotes from Famous Books

... Union has surrounded itself with captive and sullen nations. Like a crack in the crust of an uneasily sleeping volcano, the Hungarian uprising revealed the depth and intensity of the patriotic longing for liberty that still burns ...

— Complete State of the Union Addresses from 1790 to the Present • Various

... South, from East, Sheaves of pale banners drooping hole and shred; The captive brides of valour, Sabine Wives Plucked from the foeman's blushful bed, For glorious muted battle-tongues Of deeds along the horizon's red, At cost of unreluctant lives; Her toilful heroes homeward poured, ...

— The Shaving of Shagpat • George Meredith

... sword 64 set up, and this is the sacred symbol 65 of Ares. To this sword they bring yearly offerings of cattle and of horses; and they have the following sacrifice in addition, beyond what they make to the other gods, that is to say, of all the enemies whom they take captive in war they sacrifice one man in every hundred, not in the same manner as they sacrifice cattle, but in a different manner: for they first pour wine over their heads, and after that they cut the throats of the men, so that the blood runs into a bowl; and then they carry this ...

— The History Of Herodotus - Volume 1(of 2) • Herodotus

... Luther states in his second axiom, is not only this new inner man. He has another will in his flesh, which would make him captive to sin. Accordingly, he dare not be idle, but must work hard to drive out evil lusts and mortify his body. He lives, moreover, among other men on earth, and must labour together with them. And as Christ, though Himself full of the Kingdom of God, for our sake stripped Himself of His power and ...

— Life of Luther • Julius Koestlin

... is no doubt that his glowing descriptions must have done much to stimulate the French to further effort. Unhappily, at the moment of his return, his royal master was deeply engaged in a disastrous invasion of Italy, where he shortly met the crushing defeat at Pavia (1525) which left him a captive in the hands of his Spanish rival. His absence crippled French enterprise, and Verrazano's explorations were not followed up till a change of fortune enabled Francis to send out the famous expedition ...

— The Dawn of Canadian History: A Chronicle of Aboriginal Canada • Stephen Leacock

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