as in depiction
a vivid representation in words of someone or something
his novel presents a moving portrayal of a woman searching for personal fulfillment and happiness
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Recent Examples of portrayal
Lopez later catapulted into the limelight with her portrayal of late singer Selena Quintanilla in the 1997 biopic Selena.
—
Andrea Wurzburger, PEOPLE, 15 Apr. 2026
After watching the second and third installments — the first three episodes dropped on the premiere date — I was struck, time and time again, by Elle Fanning’s portrayal of Margo.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 15 Apr. 2026
These kinds of portrayals enforce biases that are damaging in the real world.
—Liza Lentini, SPIN, 14 Apr. 2026
My research shows that these earlier portrayals remain recognizable in the rhetoric today.
—Anna Piela, The Conversation, 13 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for portrayal
Andrea Wurzburger, PEOPLE, 15 Apr. 2026
After watching the second and third installments — the first three episodes dropped on the premiere date — I was struck, time and time again, by Elle Fanning’s portrayal of Margo.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 15 Apr. 2026
These kinds of portrayals enforce biases that are damaging in the real world.
—Liza Lentini, SPIN, 14 Apr. 2026
My research shows that these earlier portrayals remain recognizable in the rhetoric today.
—Anna Piela, The Conversation, 13 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for portrayal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portrayal
Noun
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Jackson’s settlement with the Chandler family turned out to include an agreement that forbade the estate to participate in depictions of the events around Chandler’s allegation.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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These scenes had to be removed after attorneys for the Jackson estate realized there was a clause in the settlement that blocked the depiction or mention of Chandler in any movie.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Police were unable to provide a detailed description of the suspects, but described them as two African American men between 20 and 30 years of age.—
Jeramie Bizzle,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
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The booster launched Northrop Grumman's previous cargo flight, NG-23, NASA's Crew-11 astronaut flight, the Axiom Space Ax-4 astronaut flight and three Starlink missions, according to a SpaceX description.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But his family takes Iván in as his experiences begin to dissolve into the imagined portrait of Celestino.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
17 Apr. 2026
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Oil portraits 2 The show is anchored at the beginning by two giant oil portraits of the Deans by acclaimed artist Kehinde Wiley, the painter behind the 2018 official portrait of former President Barack Obama.—
Jayne Yutig,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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By putting religious and profane art together—a picture of Christ on one wall and Apollo on another, both equalized in their prettiness—Raphael triggered centuries of decadence.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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The cost of data collection is often framed in terms of hardware or labor, but this view misses the larger picture.—
Ni Tao,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Portrayal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portrayal. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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