captive
10
4.4
- adjective
- /ˈkæptɪv/
- At last she had a captive audience.
- a captive audience
Examples
-
You always worked best with a captive audience.
-
Because the audience was captive and polite, I kept on expounding.
Academic text (1991) -
Well, thousands of captive audience, right?
-
Every show had a captive audience.
-
In short, it was almost as good as having a captive audience.
Academic text (1996) -
Captive audience, how could you fail?
-
You've got a captive audience.
-
Do you believe that students comprise a captive audience for such companies?
Academic text (2008) -
Schools have large, captive audiences of adolescents and provide a natural learning environment that can reinforce positive messages.
Academic text (2005) -
The magician had his audience completely captive with his amazing tricks.
Synonyms
170
2.1
Very interested and unable to stop paying attention
126
3.4
Giving full attention to an activity or idea
84
4.9
Giving full attention to something
55
4.8
Very interested and completely involved in something
46
4.1
Giving full attention to something
26
6.0
Unable to look away because something is very interesting
25
4.5
So interested that you cannot stop watching or listening
23
3.6
Giving all your attention to something and not noticing other things
19
3.9
Very interested and pleased so you cannot stop watching or listening
16
6.7
Unable to look away and to move because you feel very surprised or amazed
14
4.5
Paying all your attention to something because you are very interested
11
7.5
Fully focused and very interested in something
10
5.8
Amazed and very happy so you cannot look away
9
5.3
Your attention is fixed as if under a spell
8
5.2
So interested that you cannot stop watching or listening
1
7.6
Deeply focused on something and not aware of other things
Antonyms
Compounds
- Specialized
Company owned by a maker that gives loans to dealers or buyers to buy its products
How Absorbed
8
5.2
- Formal
11
7.5
14
4.5
10
4.4
126
3.4
56
3.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
captive = capture (semi-transparent) = capt + ive
The adjectival form is derived from 'capture' but its current use 'held by attention' is a figurative extension of being seized.
Etymology
The word captive comes from Latin capere 'to take' and shares the root with capture. That's why we say people can be captive to a performance or story — their attention has been 'taken' and held, so they are fully absorbed.