at heart
• in one's real nature, in contrast to how one may appear.
• "he's a good lad at heart"
Similar:
basically,
fundamentally,
essentially,
at bottom,
deep down,
in essence,
intrinsically,
innately,
really,
actually,
truly,
in fact,
in truth,
au fond,
when you get right down to it,
by heart
• from memory.
