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Glite Dictionary
🌞 To seize the day 🌞 Enjoying the moment
carpe diem

carpe diem

1 9.5
To tell someone to enjoy the present and act now
  • idiom
  • /ˈkɑːrpeɪ ˈdiːɛm/
  • Literature
translation icon : carpe diem
  • It was in a now very old movie called The Dead Poet Society, but the line of the movie was Carpe Diem, Seize the Day.

And that is carpe diem, seize the day because we have no, we have very little control whether we'll be on this planet tomorrow.

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Examples

  • I would just reiterate the day to dream, you know, carpe diem, seize the day, make the most of the opportunities in front of you.

  • And that is carpe diem, seize the day because we have no, we have very little control whether we'll be on this planet tomorrow.

    Tim Ferriss

  • I was planning on doing this after I got the place cleaned up and whatnot, but, like the man says, carpe diem.

    Bones (2001)

  • It was in a now very old movie called The Dead Poet Society, but the line of the movie was Carpe Diem, Seize the Day.

  • Embrace carpe diem by trying something new every weekend.

  • The motto of our team is carpe diem, encouraging us to take bold actions.

  • She reminded her friends to live by carpe diem during their trip, enjoying every moment.

Synonyms

to cherish every moment
vscarpe diem
3 3.2

To enjoy and be thankful for each moment

encourages active seizing of now rather than quiet appreciation
as if there were no tomorrow
vscarpe diem
  • Informal
1 8.2

Act with great energy and not worry about the future

urges enjoying the present without encouraging reckless behavior
to grab life by the throat
vscarpe diem
  • Informal
8.5

To act quickly and boldly to make the most of life

encourages making the most of now without forceful action
while the sun is shining
vscarpe diem
5.3

Use a good chance before it ends

urges enjoying the present generally, not only when conditions are good

Antonyms

to worry about
∞ 2.0

Feel afraid about what might happen to someone or something

to miss an opportunity
14 2.8

Fail to use a chance to do something you want

Surface Forms

carpe diem main

Morphology

carpe + diem

This is a Latin borrowing whose constituent items ('carpe', 'diem') are not English words and therefore would not be known to a typical B1 learner; the meaning cannot be derived from English constituent knowledge. Although English speakers gloss it as 'seize the day', it is a lexicalized foreign formulaic expression rather than a transparently composed English phrase, so learners without prior exposure (or knowledge of Latin) will not infer the meaning.

Etymology

Carpe diem comes from the Roman poet Horace, who used carpe meaning 'pluck' or 'seize' and diem meaning 'day', giving the image of someone picking a ripe fruit to enjoy now. So carpe diem today tells people to 'make the most of the present' and take chances now.