captivate
12 synonyms and 2 antonyms for captivate, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Verb — To take a person or animal prisoner and hold them captive.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. verb
To take a person or animal prisoner and hold them captive.
2. verb
To attract someone strongly and hold their interest and attention.
Opposites
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 *kap- (“to hold; to seize”)) + -ō (suffix forming first-conjugation verbs). Equivalent to captive + -at...
Full origin of captivate →