at heart
At one's core
At heart identifies someone's fundamental nature beneath surface appearances: He seems gruff, but he's a romantic at heart.
The phrase suggests that deeper character may contradict outward behavior or circumstances: She's a city girl at heart, At heart, they're still friends despite the falling out.
- deep downIn one's innermost self
- basicallyAt the most essential level
- fundamentallyAt the core level
- in essenceRegarding core nature
- essentiallyAt its core nature
core · true self · truly · genuine · sincere · innate · deep inside · inner being · beneath the surface · in truth · by nature · inherent · really · authentic · intrinsic · at bottom · stripped away · underlying
- in summaryin short, in brief, in sum, briefly, succinctly
depth of character
at hearton the surface
In apparent aspect only
superficially · outwardly · on the outside · ostensibly · skin-deep
authenticity vs performance
at heartfor show
performatively · in name only · publicly · on paper · professionally