at heart

Idioms  

1. Fundamentally, basically, as in He's a good fellow at heart . It was first recorded in Alexander Pope's Epistle to a Lady (1735): “But every Woman is at heart a Rake.”

2. In one's deepest feelings, as a great concern, as in The governor has the party's best interests at heart . [Early 1700s]

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Example Sentences

Jones told MPs these matters were "at heart of the police investigation".

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

For Gomis, addressing the question of dual identity means dealing with "different ways of talking about the same thing at heart".

From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026

Ms. Serpell’s tone is ardent and sometimes spicily polemical, but at heart this is informed, accessible literary analysis that demonstrates that Morrison’s true genius was as a stylist.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026

They’re simply California girls at heart, Bea said.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026

And religion—whether you believe in God or Yahweh or Allah or something else, odds are that at heart you want the same things.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan