au fond
Americanadverb
adverb
Etymology
Origin of au fond
First recorded in 1780–90
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.
It's often said – even McEwan's friends have said this – that he is, au fond, a brilliant story writer, a sprinter not a marathon runner.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 31, 2014
However, au fond, I think we share the same point of view.
From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2013
As another Nazi general wrote of Keitel later, "He was certainly not wicked au fond, as one occasionally reads of him."
From Time Magazine Archive
The French response to De Gaulle was strongly emotional, but the French are, au fond, a pre-eminently reasonable rather than sentimental people.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is rather an embarrassing situation, au fond, because you know what she is—calm, lovely, enchanting—what you will, but absolutely immovable!
From Margarita's Soul The Romantic Recollections of a Man of Fifty by J. Scott (John Scott) Williams
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
