idiom · neutral
time will tell
/taɪm wɪl tɛl/TIME·will·TELL
task2speaking
used to say that the truth or result of something will only be known in the future
Examples
“We don't know if the policy will work yet — time will tell.”
“He promised to change, but time will tell if he means it.”
“Invest carefully; time will tell which companies survive the downturn.”
Band 8 sentence
“We can't judge the initiative yet; time will tell whether it delivers long-term benefits.”
Collocations
- only time will tell
- time will tell whether
Word family
only time will tell phrasetime will tell whether/if phrase
Common mistakes
time will say→time will tell
time will tell us→time will tell
Say it for a higher band
5We'll see→6only time will tell→7+time will tell
Synonyms
only time will tell
Easily confused
only time will tell
“Only time will tell if their plan succeeds.”
Related words
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