captivate

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Late Latin captīvātus, the perfect passive participle of captīvō (“to capture”), from Latin captīvus (“captive, prisoner”) (ultimately from capiō (“to capture, seize”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂p- (“to hold; to seize”)) + -ō (suffix forming first-conjugation verbs). The English word is analyzable as captive +‎ -ate (suffix forming verbs meaning ‘to act ’, and adjectives meaning ‘characterized by ’).

Pronunciation

• Verb:
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkæptɪveɪt/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkæptəˌveɪt/
• Adjective:
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkæptɪvət/
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkæptəˌvət/
• Hyphenation: cap‧tiv‧ate

Verb

captivate (third-person singular simple present captivates, present participle captivating, simple past and past participle captivated) (transitive)

1. (obsolete)
   1. To make (a person, an animal, etc.) a captive; to take prisoner; to capture, to subdue.
      • c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , page 151, column 2:

        Hovv ill-beſeeming is it in thy Sex, / To triumph like an Amazonian Trull, / Vpon their VVoes, vvhom Fortune captiuates?

      • 1613, Samuel Purchas, “ Of Africa, and the Creatures therein.”, in Purchas His Pilgrimage. Or Relations of the World and the Religions Observed in All Ages and Places Discouered, from the Creation vnto this Present. , 2nd edition, London: William Stansby for Henrie Fetherstone, , published 1614, →OCLC, book VI (Of Ægypt, Barbary, Numidia, Libya, and the Land of Negros; and of Their Religions), page 558:

        Dabuh is the name of a ſimple and baſe Creature like a VVolfe, ſaue that his legges and feet are like to a mans: ſo fooliſh, that vvith a ſong, and a Taber, that vvhich they knovv his haunt vvill bring him out of his denne, and captiue his cares vvith their Muſicke, vvhile another captiuateth his legges vvith a Rope.

   2. (figuratively) To capture or control (the mind, etc.); to subdue, to subjugate.
      • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, “Of the Institution and Education of Children; to the Ladie Diana of Foix, Countesse of Gurson”, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes , book I, London: Val Simmes for Edward Blount , →OCLC, page 82:

        Hee hath no skill in Rhetoricke, nor can hee vvith a preface fore-ſtall and captivate the Gentle Readers good vvill: nor careth he greatly to knovve it.

      • 1611, [Miles Smith], “The Translators to the Reader”, in The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC:

        They that are vviſe, had rather haue their iudgements at libertie in differences of readings, then to be captiuated to one, vvhen it may be the other.

      • 1665, Joseph Glanvill, Scepsis Scientifica: Or, Confest Ignorance, the Way to Science; , London: E. C for Henry Eversden , →OCLC:

        'Tis a greater credit to know the ways of captivating Nature, and making her subserve our purposes, than to have learned all the intrigues of policy.

2. (figuratively) To attract and hold (someone's) attention and interest; to charm, to entrance, to fascinate.

   Synonyms: enchant, enamour

   • 1535 October 14 (Gregorian calendar), Myles Coverdale, transl., Biblia: The Byble,  (Coverdale Bible), , →OCLC, Judith xvj:[9], folio xxix, verso, column 2:

     Hir ſlippers rauyſhed his eyes, hir bewtye captyuated his mynde, with the swerde ſmote ſhe of his neck.

   • 1593, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, London: Richard Field, , →OCLC; 2nd edition, London: Richard Field, , 1594, →OCLC, , signature Cij, verso, lines :

     [L]oe thus my ſtrength is tride. / And this I do to captiuate the eye, / Of the faire breeder that is ſtanding by.

   • 1814 July 7, [Walter Scott], “A Discovery—Waverly Becomes Domesticated at Tully-Veolan”, in Waverley; , 2nd edition, volume I, Edinburgh:   James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, page 207:

     Besides, Rose Bradwardine, beautiful and amiable as we have described her, had not precisely the sort of beauty or merit which captivates a romantic imagination in early youth.

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 26:

     One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.” He at once secured attention by his informal method, and when presently the coughing of Jarvis and another boy interrupted the sermon, he altogether captivated his audience with a remark about cough lozenges being cheap and easily procurable.

Conjugation

Derived terms

Related terms

• captivation
• captive
• capture

Translations

Adjective

captivate (comparative more captivate, superlative most captivate)

1. (also figuratively, obsolete) Made captive; taken prisoner; captured, subdued.
   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , page 116, column 1:

     Tuſh, vvomen haue bene captiuate ere novv.

   • 1610, William Camden, “Wilshire”, in Philémon Holland, transl., Britain, or A Chorographicall Description of the Most Flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland, , London: Georgii Bishop & Ioannis Norton, →OCLC, page 247:

     VVhat is Gods houſe in Caſtle pent, but like that Arke of bliſſe / In Balaims temple Captivate? Ech place a priſon is.

References

Anagrams

• captative

Latin

Verb

captīvāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of captīvō