To strongly attract and hold someone’s attention or interest.
It comes from Latin 'captivare', meaning 'to capture' or 'to take prisoner', from 'captivus', 'captive'. The meaning softened from physically capturing someone to mentally or emotionally holding them.
When a movie 'captivates' you, the word is literally saying you’ve been taken prisoner in your own seat. It’s a friendly reminder that attention is something that can be captured—and you can choose what’s allowed to capture yours.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.