Captivate means to capture and hold someone's complete attention, almost as if you've cast a spell over them. When a storyteller captivates an audience, everyone stops fidgeting and leans forward, totally absorbed in the tale. When a magician captivates a crowd, people watch with wide eyes, forgetting everything else around them.

A great book can captivate you so completely that you don't hear your parent calling you for dinner. A skilled musician might captivate a concert hall, making the audience sit in perfect silence between songs.

Captivate suggests being mesmerized, enchanted, and unable to look away. You might be interested in a documentary about dolphins, but if it truly captivates you, you're fascinated and absorbed, watching with intense focus. The word carries a sense of wonder and fascination. Teachers who captivate their students make learning feel magical. Scientists can be captivated by a mystery they're trying to solve, thinking about it constantly. When something captivates you, it holds your attention completely, making everything else fade away.