Captive means held prisoner or unable to escape. A captive animal is one trapped in a cage or enclosure, like the polar bears at a zoo who can't roam the Arctic tundra. A person held captive has been captured and can't leave, like sailors taken captive by pirates in old adventure stories.

It carries the sense of being caught and controlled by someone or something else. During wars throughout history, soldiers who surrendered or were captured became captives of the enemy.

You'll also hear the phrase captive audience, which describes people who have no choice but to listen to something. Students in a classroom are sometimes called a captive audience because they can't easily walk out during a lesson. The word suggests being stuck in place, whether physically trapped like a prisoner, confined like a zoo animal, or simply unable to leave, like passengers on a long bus ride listening to someone's boring story.

Notice that captive usually implies a loss of freedom. A pet dog usually isn't captive because it stays with its family. But a wild wolf locked in a pen would be held captive because it can't go where it naturally would.