change of heart

American

noun

a reversal of one's feelings, intentions, opinions, etc..

At first Mother said we couldn't go, but she had a change of heart and let us.

change of heart Idioms

Altered feelings or attitude, as in Paul didn't like his new job, but a raise prompted a change of heart and he became quite enthusiastic. [Early 1800s]

Etymology

Origin of change of heart

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

change of heart

Shortly after Stenberg said Adeyemi gave the actor her blessing, they had a text exchange that hinted at a change of heart or different story entirely.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

Besides, some Platner voters may have had a change of heart since the primary and would like their sudden prioritization of boringness to be reflected in their next candidate.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

Having initially withdrawn from the running to replace Russell Martin, he had a change of heart and took the job after the club were unable to secure Steven Gerrard or Kevin Muscat.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

The deal marked a change of heart for Musk, who had earlier claimed that Anthropic’s AI was racist and accused the company of hypocrisy.

From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026

The skinny man drove off, and I had a feeling that my dad’s change of heart had already happened.

From "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023