Meaning
To change one’s opinion, decision, or attitude toward something, especially reversing an earlier position.
It usually implies the shift came from an emotional or moral reconsideration rather than new factual evidence — a change in feeling more than in information.
Origin
The heart has long served as a metaphor for the seat of feeling and moral disposition across many cultures and religious traditions, including the Hebrew Bible’s language of a hardened or softened heart (as in Ezekiel’s image of replacing “a heart of stone” with “a heart of flesh”), so the general idea of a transformed heart marking a change of will or feeling is genuinely ancient. The specific fixed English idiom “change of heart,” however, is documented only from around 1830, with no direct textual link to a single biblical verse — it appears to be a comparatively modern crystallization of this much older, broader tradition of heart-as-conscience imagery rather than a direct quotation or translation of a specific religious source.
Examples
She had a change of heart and decided to stay.
He was against the plan at first, but had a change of heart.
They had a change of heart after hearing the whole story.
A: “I thought you were selling the house.” B: “I had a change of heart.”
Frequently asked questions
What does 'Have a change of heart' mean?
To change one’s opinion, decision, or attitude toward something, especially reversing an earlier position.
It usually implies the shift came from an emotional or moral reconsideration rather than new factual evidence — a change in feeling more than in information.