portray

1 to give a representation or account of in words <the author portrays her characters with lifelike vividness> Synonyms delineate, depict, draw, image, limn, paint, picture, describe, render, set out, sketchRelated Words characterize, define, label, qualify, represent; demonstrate, illustrate; narrate, recite, recount, rehearse, relate, report, tell; display, exhibit, show; hint, suggest; draft, outline, silhouette, trace, vignette; summarize, sum up, touch off; redescribe, reimageNear Antonyms color, distort, falsify, garble, misdescribe, misrepresent, misstate, pervert, twist, warp

2 to point out the chief quality or qualities of an individual or group <traditionally, European authors portrayed the natives as wise and noble> Synonyms character, define, depict, describe, characterize, representRelated Words categorize, classify, pigeonhole, type; color, identify, indicate, name, specify; distinguish, individualize, mark, particularize, stamp

3 to present a picture of <a landscape that portrays the scenery near the town where the painter grew up> Synonyms depict, image, picture, representRelated Words delineate, describe, document, render; outline, silhouette, sketch; illustrate, show; diagram; caricature

4 to present a portrayal or performance of <gained fame portraying Susan B. Anthony in a one-woman show> Synonyms do, impersonate, interpret, perform, play, actRelated Words depict, dramatize, render, represent; act out, enact, pantomime, playact, role-play, take on; overact, overplay, underplay; ape, clown, ham, imitate, masquerade, mime, mimic, pose (as); star (in); coact, costar