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
To Neuvel and other critics, such portrayals romanticize euthanasia for mental illness, creating a risk of social contagion.
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Charles Lane, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2026
His portrayal of the Creature in ‘Frankenstein’ was heartbreaking, conveying the humanity of his character in a way that moved audiences profoundly.
—Heide Janssen, Oc Register, 15 Mar. 2026
For Chen, beauty becomes a way of resisting reductive portrayals of communities defined by poverty.
—Lise Pedersen, Variety, 15 Mar. 2026
In the spoof, the host is dressed as Aunt Gladys from Weapons — which which won best supporting actress for Amy Madigan’s portrayal of the character — complete with the bright orange hair and white face paint.
—Anna Chan, Billboard, 15 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for portrayal
Charles Lane, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2026
His portrayal of the Creature in ‘Frankenstein’ was heartbreaking, conveying the humanity of his character in a way that moved audiences profoundly.
—Heide Janssen, Oc Register, 15 Mar. 2026
For Chen, beauty becomes a way of resisting reductive portrayals of communities defined by poverty.
—Lise Pedersen, Variety, 15 Mar. 2026
In the spoof, the host is dressed as Aunt Gladys from Weapons — which which won best supporting actress for Amy Madigan’s portrayal of the character — complete with the bright orange hair and white face paint.
—Anna Chan, Billboard, 15 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for portrayal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portrayal
Noun
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But Luiselli’s depiction of parents made myopic or careless in the face of polycrisis obviously still resonates.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
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The restaurant, which features a mural depiction Los Angeles Dodgers stars Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts, is also the first Dog Haus restaurant to offer new menu items that will be rolled out at other locations this spring.—
Richard Guzman,
Daily News,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Do not use 'this initiative' or 'this description' in your response.—
Peter Charalambous,
ABC News,
14 Mar. 2026
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The exercise led, among other things, to the creation of an agent on Upwork’s platform, called Uma, which assists users with tasks from writing job descriptions to conducting interviews.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Even though Khamenei's father is dead, an account with his portrait was active on Thursday, mainly reposting messages from his son.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Mar. 2026
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What emerges is a portrait of Stanton not as a paragon of feminism but as a deeply peculiar person—one whose combination of vision and hubris happened to change history.—
Moira Donegan,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The broader economic picture matters too.—
Mohammed Sergie,
semafor.com,
17 Mar. 2026
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The action on the live action short film category was relatively trivial compared to categories like best actor and best picture.—
Gene Maddaus,
Variety,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Portrayal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portrayal. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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