: of, relating to, or being a rectangular document having the vertical dimension longer than the horizontal dimension
switching from landscape to portrait mode
compare landscape sense 3
Synonyms
Examples of portrait in a Sentence
Noun
The queen posed for her portrait.
The book presents a portrait of life in a small town.
Recent Examples on the Web
Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 26 Nov. 2023
Compared with Lower Delmas and G9 areas, the graffiti is less revolutionary, more West Coast gangsta; there are portraits of 2Pac and Ice Cube.
—Jason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, 26 Nov. 2023
The couple’s love story is featured prominently in American Symphony, which paints a portrait of their lives leading up to the September 2022 debut of Batiste’s original symphony at Carnegie Hall.
—Rachel Desantis, Peoplemag, 24 Nov. 2023
The book’s close-up portraits and biographies constitute a chronicle of Black Washington.
—Ian Shapira, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023
But the historian deftly navigates these gaps in the archives, interrogating the colonialist bias of the records available to present a fuller portrait of cultural exchange at a pivotal moment in world history.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2023
The outside of East Iris Studios in Nashville, Tennessee is peppered with portraits of Prince, Tom Petty, Fats Domino, Janis Joplin, Outkast, and other legends who’ve left an indelible imprint on music.
—Kyle Eustice, SPIN, 16 Nov. 2023
As Arn must know, however, the family portrait was produced shortly after the death of Degas’s aunt’s father.
—Condé Nast, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
The royal tapped ten artists from around the world to capture portraits of ten pioneering members of the Windrush Generation, which became shorthand for those who relocated to the United Kingdom between 1948 and 1973, especially from Caribbean countries.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 13 Nov. 2023
Alissa J. Rubin, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2020
Yet for all the darkness, there’s a welcome and important dose of levity too, from a hilarious video of a beauty products fair by María Luisa Bemberg to Regina Vater’s playful, costumed self-portrait photographs.
—New York Times, 4 July 2018
Arneson sets the tone through a ceramic self-portrait head from 1973, wall-mounted near the entry.
—Leah Ollman, latimes.com, 3 July 2018
In portrait orientation, the left side of the bottom bar only has space for about three to four app icons.
—Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, 23 June 2018
And even though the demand for photographers in traditional media has declined, there’s still a high-demand for commercial and portrait photographers.
—Jenny Knizner, USA TODAY, 4 June 2018
Dorothea Tanning’s self-portrait Birthday (1942) shows her bare-breasted, standing with a small winged monster with her back to a house full of open doors.
—Thomas Hine, Philly.com, 12 Apr. 2018
The heads presage a self-portrait print from 1990, displayed nearby, as well as the soft fabric figurative sculptures that Bourgeois took up in the late ’90s.
—Roberta Smith, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2017
Portrait sessions for families whose memories were stolen by the wind.
—Southern Living, 1 May 2017
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Noun
The portrait is in my office in my apartment in Rome.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 26 Nov. 2023
Compared with Lower Delmas and G9 areas, the graffiti is less revolutionary, more West Coast gangsta; there are portraits of 2Pac and Ice Cube.
—Jason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, 26 Nov. 2023
The couple’s love story is featured prominently in American Symphony, which paints a portrait of their lives leading up to the September 2022 debut of Batiste’s original symphony at Carnegie Hall.
—Rachel Desantis, Peoplemag, 24 Nov. 2023
The book’s close-up portraits and biographies constitute a chronicle of Black Washington.
—Ian Shapira, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023
But the historian deftly navigates these gaps in the archives, interrogating the colonialist bias of the records available to present a fuller portrait of cultural exchange at a pivotal moment in world history.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2023
The outside of East Iris Studios in Nashville, Tennessee is peppered with portraits of Prince, Tom Petty, Fats Domino, Janis Joplin, Outkast, and other legends who’ve left an indelible imprint on music.
—Kyle Eustice, SPIN, 16 Nov. 2023
As Arn must know, however, the family portrait was produced shortly after the death of Degas’s aunt’s father.
—Condé Nast, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
The royal tapped ten artists from around the world to capture portraits of ten pioneering members of the Windrush Generation, which became shorthand for those who relocated to the United Kingdom between 1948 and 1973, especially from Caribbean countries.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 13 Nov. 2023
Adjective
The small park behind Tahrir Square has been divided by tents, one of which has become a steadily expanding portrait gallery with photographs of those who have been killed by the security forces.
—Alissa J. Rubin, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2020
Yet for all the darkness, there’s a welcome and important dose of levity too, from a hilarious video of a beauty products fair by María Luisa Bemberg to Regina Vater’s playful, costumed self-portrait photographs.
—New York Times, 4 July 2018
Arneson sets the tone through a ceramic self-portrait head from 1973, wall-mounted near the entry.
—Leah Ollman, latimes.com, 3 July 2018
In portrait orientation, the left side of the bottom bar only has space for about three to four app icons.
—Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, 23 June 2018
And even though the demand for photographers in traditional media has declined, there’s still a high-demand for commercial and portrait photographers.
—Jenny Knizner, USA TODAY, 4 June 2018
Dorothea Tanning’s self-portrait Birthday (1942) shows her bare-breasted, standing with a small winged monster with her back to a house full of open doors.
—Thomas Hine, Philly.com, 12 Apr. 2018
The heads presage a self-portrait print from 1990, displayed nearby, as well as the soft fabric figurative sculptures that Bourgeois took up in the late ’90s.
—Roberta Smith, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2017
Portrait sessions for families whose memories were stolen by the wind.
—Southern Living, 1 May 2017
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'portrait.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing portrait
Dictionary Entries Near portrait
Cite this Entry
“Portrait.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portrait. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
portrait
noun
por·trait
ˈpōr-trət,
ˈpȯr-,
-ˌtrāt
1
: a picture of a person usually showing the face
2
: a portrayal in words
More from Merriam-Webster on portrait
Nglish: Translation of portrait for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of portrait for Arabic Speakers
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