a captive of sb/sth
captive 作名词时可数；of 后引出俘获或控制自己的人或势力。
The journalist was a captive of the rebels for six weeks.
那名记者被叛军关押了六个星期。
着迷的人；被迷住的人；自保保险公司；专属保险公司；被捕获或被限制的人；被囚禁者；被美丽、卓越或情感迷住的人
a person who is captured or held prisoner
被捕获或被限制的人
One who has been captured or is otherwise confined.
被囚禁者
One held prisoner.
被美丽、卓越或情感迷住的人
One charmed or subdued by beauty, excellence, or affection; one who is captivated.
自保保险公司,即公司内部保险子公司
A captive insurance company, a subsidiary of a company used as its internal insurer.
The soldiers treated their captives with respect.
士兵们尊重地对待他们的俘虏。
用法提示：captive 在此作名词，指被俘获的人。
He remained a captive of her charm and could not leave.
他仍然被她的魅力所迷住，无法离开。
用法提示：captive 作名词，指被美丽或魅力迷住的人。
The large company set up a captive to insure its own risks.
这家大公司设立了一家自保保险公司来承保自身风险。
用法提示：captive 作名词，指公司内部的自保保险公司。
captive 作名词时可数；of 后引出俘获或控制自己的人或势力。
The journalist was a captive of the rebels for six weeks.
那名记者被叛军关押了六个星期。
复数 captives 泛指被俘获的人，前不加冠词。
The raiders took captives and burned the village.
袭击者抓走了俘虏，还烧毁了村庄。
as 后可用 a captive，也可用复数 captives，表示把某人当俘虏关押。
The pirates held the sailors as captives for months.
海盗把那些水手当作俘虏关押了数月。
最通用、最接近 captive 的同义词；但 prisoner 常指因法律判罪而关押的人，captive 更强调被武力或强制手段捕获。
仅指被扣押以达成某种条件（如赎金或政治要求）的人；若只是单纯囚禁而无要挟目的，不宜用 hostage。
多用于正式或法律语境，指被当局拘留的人（如因移民或安全原因）；captive 是普通用词，不限定拘留主体。
特指战时或紧急状态下被集中拘押的人（如敌国平民或战俘），语域较正式且不常用。
grammar · medium
易错句子The army set all the captive free after the war.
正确表达The army set all the captives free after the war.
captive 作名词时可数，前面有 all the 表示多名被俘者时必须用复数 captives；汉语名词不标复数，学习者容易漏掉 -s。
grammar · medium
易错句子He was held as captive for three years.
正确表达He was held as a captive for three years.
作名词用的可数单数前要有限定词，as 后接单数名词须加不定冠词 a；汉语没有冠词，学习者常漏掉。若要表示状态，也可说 be held captive，此时 captive 是形容词，才不加冠词。
grammar · medium
易错句子The birds were kept in captive for many years.
正确表达The birds were kept in captivity for many years.
表示“被囚禁的状态”要用抽象名词 captivity，并搭配介词 in；captive 是表示人的可数名词或形容词，不能跟在 in 后面充当状态名词。这是名词与状态名词的词性混淆。
针对“被捕获或被限制的人（俘虏/囚徒）”这一义项，captor 是抓住并囚禁对方的人，与 captive 互为相对角色。
针对“被囚禁者”义项，liberator 是使 captive 获释的人；若指“被迷住的人”，则无此对立义。
释放俘虏
The government agreed to release the captives after months of negotiation.
政府同意在数月谈判后释放俘虏。
俘虏某人；抓捕战俘
The invading forces took many captives during the battle.
入侵部队在战斗中俘虏了许多人。
交换俘虏
The two sides met to exchange captives as part of the peace deal.
双方会面，按照和平协议交换俘虏。
扣押俘虏；关押战俘
The militia held captives in an underground prison.
民兵组织将俘虏关押在地下监狱。
战俘
He was a war captive for three years before escaping.
他当了三年战俘，之后才逃脱。
capt-（词根：抓、拿） + -ive（后缀：与…有关的）。同根词：capture、captor、captivate；同后缀词：active、native。
走不了的听众；被迫观看或倾听的人
The passengers on the plane were a captive audience for the safety demonstration.
飞机上的乘客被迫观看了安全演示。
囚禁某人；使某人失去自由
The rebels held the villagers captive for months.
叛乱分子把村民囚禁了数月。
被垄断的市场；无选择余地的消费群体
People in remote areas often face a captive market for essential goods.
偏远地区的人们在购买必需品时往往面对一个没有选择余地的市场。
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Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.