Meaning of captivate in English

1. Pronunciation

   /ˈkæptəˌveɪt/

   US accent

   How to pronounce captivate in American English, in context ▾
   Use the controls below to browse different examples of pronunciation.

   UK accent

   How to pronounce captivate in British English, in context ▾
   Use the controls below to browse different examples of pronunciation.

1. Verb

   captivate

   Etymology

   early 16th century: from late Latin captivat-‘taken captive’, from the verb captivare, from captivus (see captive)

   Definitions

   1. attract

   Examples

   • « cause to be enamored »
   • « She captured all the men's hearts »

   Derived terms

   • animal magnetism
   • appeal
   • appealingness
   • beguilement
   • beguiler
   • bewitchery
   • captivation
   • captive
   • catch
   • charm
   • charmer
   • enchantment
   • enthrallment
   • entrancement
   • fascination
   • match
   • ravishment
   • smoothie
   • smoothy
   • spell
   • sweet talker
   • trance

Browse dictionary

• captiously
• captious
• caption
• Captain Kidd
• captivate
• captivated
• captivating
• captivatingly
• captivation