Time heals all wounds is a proverb with roots in ancient times. A proverb is a short, common saying or phrase. These common sayings are language tools that particularly give advice or share a universal truth, or impart wisdom. Synonyms for proverb include adage, aphorism, sayings, and byword, which can also be someone or something that is the best example of a group. Often, a proverb is so familiar that a speaker will only quote half of it, relying on the listener to supply the ending of the written or spoken proverb himself. Speakers of English as a second language are sometimes confused by these pithy sayings as translations from English to other languages do not carry the impact that the English phrases carry. Some common proverbs are the wise sayings better late than never, early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, haste makes waste, blood is thicker than water, and a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. One of the books of the Bible is the Book of Proverbs, which contains words and phrases that are still often quoted in the English language because they are wise. Many current proverbs are quotations taken from literature, particularly Shakespeare, as well as the Bible and other sacred writings. We will examine the meaning of the proverb time heals all wounds, where the expression came from, and some examples of its use in sentences.
Time heals all wounds is a proverb that means that grief and sorrow will lessen over time; emotional pain is relieved as time passes. Though the expression time heals all wounds is often quoted, people who have experienced loss and grief usually dispute the sentiment. Loss of a child or losing a loved one such as a grandparent, aunt or uncle, sibling, parent, or other family member may leave one depressed, grief-stricken, numb, in despair, and without an appetite. Coping with loss of family members can be emotionally traumatic. The grieving process is painful, especially after the death of child. The bereaved may find it necessary to join a grief support group to mourn and to learn to cope with one’s sadness and move through heartbreak into a healing process. Though healing a broken heart is possible, the scar is always there. The phrase time heals all wounds may be first attributed to the Greek poet Menander, who lived around 300 B.C. and said, “Time is the healer of all necessary evils.” Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem, Troilus and Criseyde, written in the 1380s contains the phrase: “As tyme hem hurt, a tyme doth hem cure.”
Examples
They say that time heals all wounds, but, tonight, I think Luka’s wounds were healed by hard work, grit and a love of the game. (The Observer)
“It has been said that time heals all wounds, and it has healed mine,” Cruz wrote in a letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. (The Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
You would think that a person would swap out painful songs instead of accumulating them over a lifetime, but whoever said “Time heals all wounds” was WRONG. (The Independent)