Meaning
A genuine shift in someone's feelings, attitude, or intentions, especially a reversal of an earlier position, such as becoming kinder toward a person or accepting something previously refused. It suggests that the change comes from within and is sincerely felt rather than imposed. Neutral register; spans small reversals and profound conversions, and is sometimes used ironically. Regional use: General English.
Origin
The OED documents change of heart from before 1400, its first citation being a line in the Middle English poem the Cursor Mundi; in early use the phrase specifically meant an alteration in a person's religious or spiritual attitude, as in a 1628 sermon by John Preston insisting that without such an alteration Christ is not in a person. Secular uses of the modern kind are illustrated from the late 18th and 19th centuries. A 19th-century starting date is therefore far too late, though the religious-conversion background often attached to the phrase is real and appears in the OED's sense history. The figurative basis is the old view of the heart as the seat of the will and affections: what changes is the person's inner self.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- have a change of heart
- undergo a change of heart
Usage Examples
- The council had a change of heart and restored the library's funding.
- After years of refusing to fly, my grandfather had a change of heart and joined us in Tokyo.
- Her change of heart about the merger surprised analysts who had expected a long fight.