CAPTIVATE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does captivate mean? 

• CAPTIVATE (verb)
  The verb CAPTIVATE has 1 sense:

1. attract; cause to be enamored

  Familiarity information: CAPTIVATE used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CAPTIVATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they captivate    ... he / she / it captivates   
Past simple: captivated   
Past participle: captivated   
-ing form: captivating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Attract; cause to be enamored

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

becharm; beguile; bewitch; captivate; capture; catch; charm; enamor; enamour; enchant; entrance; fascinate; trance

Context example:

She captured all the men's hearts

Hypernyms (to "captivate" is one way to...):

appeal; attract (be attractive to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "captivate"):

hold (hold the attention of)

work (gratify and charm, usually in order to influence)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to captivate Sue

Derivation:

captivation (a feeling of great liking for something wonderful and unusual)

captivation (the state of being intensely interested (as by awe or terror))

captive (a person held in the grip of a strong emotion or passion)

 Context examples 

Warmth and enthusiasm did captivate her still.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Fanny Price was at this time just ten years old, and though there might not be much in her first appearance to captivate, there was, at least, nothing to disgust her relations.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

But she was so affectionate and sweet-natured, and had such a pleasant manner of being both sly and shy at once, that she captivated me more than ever.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The intriguing bright spots and other interesting features of this captivating world will come into sharper focus.

('Bright Spot' on Ceres Has Dimmer Companion, NASA)

In love, you will be your most charismatic and captivating.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Was it a new circumstance for a man of first-rate abilities to be captivated by very inferior powers?

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Not that my fancy was much captivated by the idea of long chimneys and clouds of smoke—"but," I argued, "Thornfield will, probably, be a good way from the town."

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Just the kind of girl I should suppose likely to captivate poor Edward.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

To Jane herself, she exclaimed, there could be no possibility of objection; all loveliness and goodness as she is!—her understanding excellent, her mind improved, and her manners captivating.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

One of the captivating children, who seem made to be kissed and cuddled, adorned and adored like little goddesses, and produced for general approval on all festive occasions.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)