* -ate: This suffix often means "to cause to become". For example, "activate" means "to cause to become active."
* -ive: This suffix means "one who is" or "having the quality of". For example, "attractive" means "having the quality of attracting."
So, "captivate" literally means "to cause to become captured".
In other words, to captivate someone is to hold their attention completely, to make them feel enthralled or fascinated.