captive:

(plural: ‘captives‘; pronunciation: the letter ‘c’ is said with a ‘k’ sound as in “king”; the opposite word in meaning is ‘captor’ next entry)

a person who is taken prisoner and kept in a prison, especially in war; a prisoner of war;

a person or animal that is caught and kept in a cell (room), cage or prison under lock and key, and not given any freedom to move about or to go out of that place — put in captivity; a hostage;

a person who is emotionally attached to some thing or to some other person and cannot break away from that spell,

e.g.

The police raided a hide-out last night and arrested three suspected criminals; however, one of the captives escaped by over-powering the attendant who went into their cell to give them food and water.

John had been a captive in the hands of the tribal people for several weeks before a rescue team found him and got him released from his captors.

Sam has been a captive of the singer’s beautiful voice since he attended her show a couple of months ago.

Note: ‘Captive’ is more commonly used in its adjective form to refer to people or animals that are held prisoners by somebody, e.g. ‘captive breeding’, ‘captive water’, ‘captive animals’, etc.
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About the Author:BC Kumar

BC Kumar, an English Language Teacher, taught in numerous countries including Ethiopia, Oman and India, shares his knowledge and passion for the English Language. Disclaimer: This is a free educational website and all content has been compiled by the author. All copyrights to images and videos belong to their respective owners.

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