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captiver

to captivate, to fascinate

verb kap-tee-VAY Rare
Mind & Emotions Emotions

Origin: Latin 'captivare' (to take captive)

Usage Note

Captiver describes holding someone's complete attention — son discours a captivé l'assemblée ('his speech captivated the audience'). It is slightly more formal than fasciner; the related adjective captivant ('captivating, gripping') is very common and applies to books, films, and speakers.

Examples

"Ce roman m'a captivé dès la première page."

Natural Translation

This novel captivated me from the first page.

Literal Translation

This novel me has captivated from the first page.

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