Words / B2

KAPT-iv-ayt/ˈkæptɪveɪt/

To captivate is to attract and hold someone’s attention strongly: captivate an audience; a captivating opening. Capture is to take by force (already in the dictionary); charm is milder. The opening captivated the examiner; the n still had to be named. Mix-up: capture / captive. Do not write captivate for arresting a suspect.

Meaning

To attract and hold someone’s attention strongly.

Examples

• “The opening captivated the examiner; the n still had to be named.”
• “A captivating clip is still not a sampling frame, which is the attention sense.”

Good to know

captivate + person / audience; captivating. Force: capture. Person held: captive. Trap: capture. Literature, media, and orals. Hold attention, not take a fort.

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