captive
cap·tive/ˈkæptɪv/noun, adjective
captive is spelled C-A-P-T-I-V-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (cap·tive). It appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, captive means “One who has been captured or is otherwise confined” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of captive is captives.
How many letters and syllables are in captive?
| Letters | 7: C-A-P-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: cap·tive |
| In writing | 5.0 times per million words; the 11,198th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is captive?
Captive appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce captive?
- /ˈkæptɪv/
Captive has 2 syllables, split cap·tive in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-captive.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of captive
- captives plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- captiving participle, present
- captived participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does captive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One who has been captured or is otherwise confined.
- 2
One held prisoner.
- 3
One charmed or subdued by beauty, excellence, or affection; one who is captivated.
- 4
A captive insurance company, a subsidiary of a company used as its internal insurer.
adjective
- 1
Held prisoner; not free; confined.
- 2
Subdued by love; charmed; captivated.
- 3
Of or relating to bondage or confinement; serving to confine.
captive chains; captive hours
verb
- 1
archaicTo capture; to take captive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Captive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | captif, captive |
| German | Gefangener, Gefangene , gefangen |
| Portuguese | cativo , prisioneiro |
| Spanish | cautivo, captivo , preso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does captive come from?
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”). Doublet of caitiff.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).