captivate

C2+ Topic:Mind & Cognition

US /ˈkæptəˌveɪt/ UK /ˈkæptɪˌveɪt/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to attract and hold the attention by charm or beauty

The young pianist could captivate an entire concert hall.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to attract and hold the... charm enchant fascinate enthrall entrance bewitch mesmerize

Opposites

repel bore disgust

Word family

Derived forms captivating captivationcaptivator

Related forms captive captivity capture

Etymology

From Late Latin captivāre ('to take captive'), from Latin captīvus ('captive'), from capere ('to take, seize').

captivāre Latin capere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Mind & Cognition Word Formation & Derivatives

# captivate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ˈkæptəˌveɪt
**IPA (UK):** ˈkæptɪˌveɪt

## Meanings
1. to attract and hold the attention by charm or beauty

## Examples
- The young pianist could captivate an entire concert hall.

## Synonyms
- charm
- enchant
- fascinate
- enthrall
- entrance
- bewitch
- mesmerize

## Antonyms
- repel
- bore
- disgust

## Derived Forms
- captivating
- captivation
- captivator

## Related Forms
- captive
- captivity
- capture

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: captivāre
- Root: capere

## Etymology
From Late Latin captivāre ('to take captive'), from Latin captīvus ('captive'), from capere ('to take, seize').

## AI Etymology
Captivate is from Late Latin captivāre ('to take captive'), from Latin captīvus ('captive'), from capere ('to take, seize'). Important recorded forms include captivāre (Latin) and capere (Latin). The current sense covers to attract and hold the attention by charm or beauty. The wider family includes derived forms such as captivating, captivation, and captivator and related words such as captive, captivity, and capture.

## Topics
- Mind & Cognition
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown

captivate

Meanings

Thesaurus

Etymology

Topics

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback