portray

verb

por·​tray pȯr-ˈtrā 

pər-

portrayed; portraying; portrays

transitive verb

1

: to make a picture of : depict

2

a

: to describe in a particular way

The article portrayed the president as confident.

b

: to play the role of : enact

portrays the hero in the film

portrayer noun

Synonyms of portray

• describe
• depict

Examples of portray in a Sentence

The White House has portrayed the President as deeply conflicted over the matter.

The lawyer portrayed his client as a victim of child abuse.

He portrayed himself as a victim.

The painting portrays the queen in a purple robe.

Laurence Olivier portrayed Hamlet beautifully.

Recent Examples on the Web

The investigator testified that Horner appeared to portray himself as a victim and noted that Horner showed no accountability for his actions. —Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2026

The film is only interested in portraying Goodman as an unambiguous hero, robbing us of the chance to explore the nuances of a complicated person who has participated in decades of history. —Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 8 Apr. 2026

Both countries have portrayed the agreement as a victory, but since then, Israel declared the largest coordinated strike in Lebanon and Iran responded by halting oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, semi-official news agency Fars reported. —Riane Lumer, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026

But there remains a gulf between the two countries, who each portrayed the temporary truce as a victory for their nations. —Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English portraien, purtrayen, purtreyen "to draw, paint, depict, decorate, form a mental image of," borrowed from Anglo-French purtraire "to represent (in drawing, painting, etc.), depict, decorate, plan" (also continental Old French pourtraire), from pur-, pour-, por-, prefix marking completion of an action (going back to Latin prō-, prefix denoting forward movement) + traire "to drag, pull, draw out, launch, shoot, trace, represent," going back to Latin trahere "to drag, draw, take along" — more at pro- entry 2, abstract entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for portray

• airway
• allay
• archway
• array
• ashtray
• astray
• aue
• away
• ballet
• belay
• beltway
• beret

Kids Definition

portray

verb

por·​tray pōr-ˈtrā 

pȯr-

1

: to make a portrait of

2

a

: to describe in words

b

: to play the role of

portrayer noun