Meaning
Emotional pain, however severe, tends to lessen and become more bearable simply with the passage of time.
It’s usually said as comfort to someone grieving or suffering, acknowledging present pain while offering hope that it will ease.
Origin
The sentiment is often traced to the Greek comic playwright Menander (c. 342-290 BC), whose surviving fragments include the line “Time is the healer of all necessary evils” — though, as with many ancient authors known mainly through fragments quoted by later writers, the precise original wording and context are not fully certain. Whatever its exact classical source, the idea proved remarkably durable and independently recurring: variations of “time heals” appear across the literature of many later cultures and languages, suggesting it reflects a widely shared observation about grief and memory rather than a single, traceable coinage.
Examples
It’s been hard since the breakup, but time heals all wounds.
She still misses her father, though time has healed some of the wounds.
I know it hurts now, but time heals all wounds, I promise.
A: Will I ever get over this? B: You will. Time heals all wounds.
Frequently asked questions
What does 'Time heals all wounds' mean?
Emotional pain, however severe, tends to lessen and become more bearable simply with the passage of time.
It’s usually said as comfort to someone grieving or suffering, acknowledging present pain while offering hope that it will ease.