at heart

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]

Example Sentences

“I’m a builder at heart,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post.

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That is why we are at heart a creedal nation, and that is why the 250th anniversary of the Declaration next year is so important.

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I am a comedian at heart, so sometimes I’m loyal to the joke to a fault.

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To Penelope it was the safest place in the world, a place where she would be surrounded by old friends and beloved teachers, and where everyone would have the Incorrigible children’s best interests at heart.

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Studies looking at heart and cognitive health have produced mixed results.

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