What does captive mean?
A captive is a person who has been imprisoned, seized, or otherwise confined against their will, whether by an enemy army, kidnappers, or another holding authority. The word also functions as an adjective describing anyone or anything so held — as in a bird kept caged — and, by extension, situations where people have no real freedom to leave or choose otherwise. This figurative extension is common in everyday speech: commuters stuck on a delayed train are described as a 'captive audience' for advertisements, and consumers with few alternatives form a 'captive market'. The term carries connotations of powerlessness and constraint, and it appears frequently in journalism, history, and law, particularly in phrases like 'taken captive' or 'held captive'. Derived forms include 'captivity' (the state of being held) and 'captivate' (to fascinate), which shows how the idea of seizing attention grew out of the older sense of seizing a person.
A person who has been imprisoned, seized, or confined by force, especially by an enemy or captor.
"The pirates kept their captives below deck for weeks."
Common in historical, military, and journalistic contexts; plural is 'captives'.
Held prisoner or confined against one's will; also used figuratively of an audience or market that has no realistic option to avoid something or go elsewhere.
"Passengers were a captive audience for the airline's safety video."
The standard plural applies to the noun sense only; the adjective does not take a plural form.
"Negotiations began once the rebels agreed to release all their captives."
The word 'captive' traces back to Latin 'captivus', the same root that gave us 'cattle' — because in the ancient world, captured people and livestock were counted as the same kind of property.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of captive
Captive derives from the Latin 'captivus', meaning taken prisoner, formed from 'captus', the past participle of 'capere', meaning to take or seize. The word entered English through Old French 'captif' in the late medieval period, appearing in English texts by around the fourteenth century. The same Latin root 'capere' produced a wide family of English words including 'capture', 'capable', 'receive', and 'chattel', reflecting the broad ancient concept of seizing or taking possession of people and property alike. Its figurative use for audiences and markets developed much later, drawing on the metaphor of being unable to walk away.
Related word forms
How captive is actually used
The noun sense is neutral in register and common in news and historical writing. The adjective sense extends naturally to commercial contexts, where 'captive audience' or 'captive market' often carries a slightly cynical connotation about a lack of consumer choice. In legal and military contexts, 'held captive' is a fixed and frequent collocation.
Easily confused with captive
Captive refers to the person or thing that is held, while captivity is the state or condition of being held.