captivate
To hold someone's attention completely because they find something wonderful.
captivate in a sentence
- The storyteller captivated the children, who sat frozen until the very last word.
- The glittering circus acrobats captivate everyone watching, so nobody wants to blink and miss a moment.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to captivate?
- Acharm
- Bannoy
- Cbore
Show the answer
A: charm. The other three mean the opposite of captivate.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to captivate?
- Aamaze
- Bdelight
- Ccharm
- Dbore
Show the answer
D: bore. The other three mean nearly the same as captivate.
Words that mean something similar
charm, delight, amaze
Words that mean the opposite
bore, annoy
More words about emotions & feelings
- cherish: To love and care for something very much.
- composed: Calm and in control of your feelings.
- console: To comfort someone who is sad.
- contempt: A strong feeling that someone or something is worthless.
- content: Happy and satisfied with what you have.
- covet: To badly want something that belongs to someone else.
- crestfallen: Sad and disappointed after something has gone wrong.
- cringe: To shrink back or squirm because something is scary or embarrassing.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test