Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Captivating \Cap"ti*va`ting\, a. Having power to captivate or charm; fascinating; as, captivating smiles. -- Cap"ti*va`ting*ly, adv.
Captivate \Cap"ti*vate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Captivated; p. pr. & vb. n. Captivating.] [L. captivatus, p. p. of captivare to capture, fr. captivus captive. See Captive.]
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To take prisoner; to capture; to subdue. [Obs.]
Their woes whom fortune captivates.
--Shak. -
To acquire ascendancy over by reason of some art or attraction; to fascinate; to charm; as, Cleopatra captivated Antony; the orator captivated all hearts.
Small landscapes of captivating loveliness.
--W. Irving.Syn: To enslave; subdue; overpower; charm; enchant; bewitch; facinate; capture; lead captive.
Wiktionary
1 that captivates; fascinating 2 beautiful; showing great beauty v
(present participle of captivate English)
WordNet
adj. capturing interest as if by a spell; "bewitching smile"; "Roosevelt was a captivating speaker"; "enchanting music"; "an enthralling book"; "antique papers of entrancing design"; "a fascinating woman" [syn: bewitching, enchanting, enthralling, entrancing, fascinating]
Wikipedia
Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul is a book published in 2005 by John Eldredge and his wife Stasi.(Eldredge 8 The book rejects the idea of an ideal woman and explores biblical scripture from the view that God desires woman to embrace her glory, rather than fear her femininity.) Captivating is a companion to Wild at Heart, also by John Eldredge, and argues that its model of femininity complements men's innate desires for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.
The authors use scriptural analysis, personal experience and interviews with others as the basis for their argument. The book has received considerable criticism from people both within and outside the Christian sphere. Many argue that the authors' personal experiences add too much bias to a book intended to address wide human conditions; many others find fault with the authors' scriptural analyses.
Usage examples of "captivating".
What is so captivating and popular as a book of essays which gathers together and arranges a lot of facts out of histories and cyclopaedias, set forth in the form of conversations that any one could have taken part in?
Francis Denbigh, the eldest son of the general, was naturally diffident, and, in addition, it was his misfortune to be the reverse of captivating in external appearance.
Sara had a bracelet, and Louey came running into the room with an apronful of the most captivating picture-books in the most gorgeous of bindings, to kiss her father over and over again, and to assure him that Father Christmas had given her what she liked better than anything she could have chosen for herself.
Experience had taught her to be suspicious only of those men who ignored the captivating charms that Mata had built into her unconscious moods.
He was soon so accustomed to his new life in peaceful Ajaccio, whose surroundings, decked in eternal verdure, are so captivating and so beautiful, that in spite of a vague desire for change he now dreaded to leave it.
In his cantatas he shows himself at once captivating and caressing, and in his minuets he is delightful and full of humour.
The picture drawn of him in early life by the Scottish historians is highly captivating, and seems rather the description of a hero of romance than of a character in real history.
There was something so captivating in his light way of touching these fantastic strings, and he was such a mirthful child by the side of the graver childhood we had seen, that he made my guardian smile even as he turned towards us from a little private talk with Mrs. Blinder.
Though she was not beautiful, there was something captivating about this girl.
Devonport, and brought back a rosy-cheeked, round-bodied rogue of a boy, who fell upon meats and puddings, and defeated them, with a captivating simplicity in his confession that he had never had enough to eat in his life.
Decorating the walls were images of other starships, starscapes, and one captivating image of a molten pit spewing forth lava like a geyser.
Nevertheless, she was a girl of the most captivating kind, for to the most perfect beauty she added grace, wit, goodness, and kindness, which won everyone's heart.
His written style had traits of the same bold adventurousness, but it was his speech which was most captivating.
The thin limbs of deciduous trees and brush d in white from a coating of freezing rain, which accentuated md branch, captivating Ayla with their winter beauty.
They reminded me of the groups of black men called gandy dancers in the Old South, who would come along the railroad track chanting, nodding, stepping forward and back in unison, banging out a rhythm with their steel rods, captivating children and moving on before you realized they had also, incidentally, repaired the track.