captive
Definitions
A person who has been captured and held prisoner
俘虏，被囚禁者
Kept as a prisoner or confined; unable to leave
被俘的，被关押的；受困的
Unable to avoid something because of the situation (captive audience/market)
（因处境而）别无选择的，被迫接受的
Root Breakdown
Native EnglishFrom captivus, 'taken prisoner,' built on capere's capt- stem ('seized'). A captive is someone who has been 'taken.' The figurative captive audience is a crowd that can't leave — they're 'held' by the situation, like passengers on a plane forced to watch the ads.
Root cap still carries 163 more wordsWhy It Means This
Captive sits at the literal core of the capt- family: to be captive is to be physically held after being seized. From there English stretched it figuratively — a captive market has nowhere else to buy, a captive audience can't walk out. The shared image is always the same lock: you've been taken and you can't get free.
Common Collocations
- 1.held captive被关押
- 2.take captive俘获
- 3.captive audience被困观众
- 4.captive market锁定市场
Example Sentences
- 1.
The captives were finally released after months of negotiation.
- 2.
The lion had been kept captive in a tiny cage for years.
- 3.
Passengers on a long flight are a captive audience for ads.
Easily Confused
captive vs captivated — captive means held prisoner / unable to leave; captivated means charmed and fascinated. A captive audience can't leave; a captivated audience doesn't want to. Same root, opposite mood.