captor

noun

Definition of captornext
as in warden

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of captor When Lord John comes to in the boat house where he’s being held, his captor, Captain Richardson, unfurls his plan. — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 8 May 2026 In 2013, three women who had been kidnapped and held for years are found alive at their captor’s home in Cleveland, Ohio. — Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2026 In March 1980, 14-year-old Steven Stayner walked into a Ukiah police station with a 5-year-old boy who had recently been kidnapped by his captor. — Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 4 May 2026 The captors demanded access to a safe, computer, and online accounts holding cryptocurrency, the indictment read. — Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 28 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for captor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captor
  1. warden
  2. keeper
  3. marshal
  4. jailer
  5. guardian
  6. custodian
  7. guard
Noun
  • There is no word on when the search for a new warden will commence.
    — Christopher DeRose, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • But to Bill Donnelly, the service’s warden, New Jersey’s fire season, like North America’s, can feel unending.
    — Robert Sullivan, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of warden
Noun
  • Allison Rugila, associate Sound keeper with Save the Sound, said that the presence of dolphins in the Long Island Sound points to both an ecological success story and a potential warning about the impacts of climate change.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Fans were still filing in, braving 90-degree heat with novelty beer swords in hand, as Maiava moved USC methodically down the field, punching in a one-yard keeper for an early score.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of keeper
Noun
  • The Christiana Riot, also known as the Christiana Resistance, occurred in Christiana, Pennsylvania, where free Black people and escaped slaves successfully resisted a federal marshal’s raid to capture four fugitive slaves.
    — USA Today, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
  • While Nixon wasn’t well-known nationally, her background as a union organizer, and as executive director for Florida For All, a voter recruitment nonprofit, helped her marshal a statewide network of campaign supporters.
    — Jeffrey Schweers, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of marshal
Noun
  • Sometimes there’s a lot of hate—and not just at the jailer, at one another.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Shawna was hospitalized and survived with serious injuries, but David — a beloved Montgomery County deputy jailer — died.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 2 July 2026
Definition of jailer
Noun
  • The country has long had one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates, now exacerbated by the Taliban’s ban on medical training for women and the requirement that women patients be accompanied to appointments by a male guardian.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Once an account is established, parents, guardians, grandparents and others can also contribute up to $5,000 per year until the year before the beneficiary turns 18.
    — Jessica Dickler, CNBC, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of guardian
Noun
  • Today, fifth-generation Fiorentinos are the custodians of this old-world, grandest of grand hotels, nearing its 200th anniversary.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Mireles was not found during that search, but his body was discovered a week later by a custodian working on the county property within a few hundred feet of the jail.
    — Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of custodian
Noun
  • Patterson, who turns 27 on Tuesday, has experience at guard and center, and the 49ers needed a backup at both spots considering Toth’s lingering concussion symptoms.
    — Matt Barrows, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • So the first-year guard had to wait around and trust that his new team would figure out a way to get him in the door.
    — Tony East, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of guard

Browse Nearby Words

captivity
captor
captors
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Captor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captor. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of apiary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All