“captives” is a form of
captive
/ˈkæptɪv/ noun, adjective, verb
Forms captives captiving captived
- noun One who has been captured or is otherwise confined.
- noun One held prisoner.
- noun (figurative) One charmed or subdued by beauty, excellence, or affection; one who is captivated.
- noun A captive insurance company, a subsidiary of a company used as its internal insurer.
- adjective Held prisoner; not free; confined.
- adjective Subdued by love; charmed; captivated.
- adjective Of or relating to bondage or confinement; serving to confine.
- verb (transitive, archaic) To capture; to take captive.
Synonyms
prisoner confined imprisoned jailed absorbed engrossed enwrapped intent wrapped
Antonyms
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English captif; derived from Latin captīvus, probably through a borrowing from a Middle French intermediate. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“seize, hold”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A prisoner taken by force or stratagem, esp., by an enemy, in war; one kept in bondage or in the power of another.
- noun One charmed or subdued by beaty, excellence, or affection; one who is captivated.
- adjective Made prisoner, especially in war; held in bondage or in confinement.
- adjective Subdued by love; charmed; captivated.
Etymology [L. captivus, fr. capere to take: cf. F. captif. See Caitiff.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “captive”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details