Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having power to engage the regard, esteem, or affections; winning; fascinating; bewitching.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Having power to captivate or charm; fascinating.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective that captivates; fascinating
  • adjective beautiful; showing great beauty
  • verb Present participle of captivate.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective capturing interest as if by a spell

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word captivating.

Examples

  • Snow globes contain captivating miniature worlds, portraying Evergreen trees, snow-capped houses and horse drawn carriages.

    Creepy Snow Globes | Disinformation 2008

  • Larger-than-life people in which the word captivating understates their magnetic personalities.

    "Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed" by Marc Blatte (Schaffner Press) Paul 2009

  • Larger-than-life people in which the word captivating understates their magnetic personalities.

    Archive 2009-06-01 Paul 2009

  • Entire lives are laid out with remarkable precision, in captivating prose: a screenwriter carries on a decades-long affair with a beautiful actress, whose descent into addiction he can neither turn from nor share; a bored husband picks up a mysterious woman only to find that his ego has led him woefully astray; a world-beating Silicon Valley executive receives an unwelcome guest at his mansion in the hills; a scuba dive guides uneasy newlyweds to a point of no return.

    Fun with Problems by Robert Stone: Book summary 2010

  • It’s a testament to Day-Lewis’ ability that he’s able to remain captivating while playing such a listless and static character.

    NINE Review – Collider.com 2009

  • Let’s take a look at the latest in captivating staircases.

    Gorgeous Wood and Glass Staircases by Siller 2009

  • It is described as a captivating look at the daily experiences of students receiving special education services, and examines gains made by the Los Angeles Unified School District toward compliance with civil rights laws that guarantee a quality education for all children.

    Documentary resources on disability topics BA Haller 2008

  • This is fine as long as the passages remain captivating.

    REVIEW: The Golden Transcendence by John C. Wright 2004

  • Sir Joshua nowhere recommends _careless_ style; on the contrary, he every where urges the student to laborious toil, in order that he may acquire that facility which Sir Joshua so justly calls captivating, and which afterwards

    Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Volume 53, No. 328, February, 1843 Various

  • The seemingly fashionable hairstyle was also described as "captivating" in Rodong Sunmun, the North Korean newspaper, which wrote: "A young man with an ambitious high sided haircut looks so sobering and stylish."

    Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph Danielle Demetriou 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.