portray

verb

por·​tray pȯr-ˈtrā 

pər-

portrayed; portraying; portrays

transitive verb

1

: to make a picture of : depict

2

a

: to describe in words

b

: to play the role of : enact

portrayer noun

Synonyms

• 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

When not painting biblical scenes and images of saints, these artists were portraying the rich and powerful. —Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 15 July 2025

AnnaSophia Robb portrayed Violet Beauregarde, the bubble-gum obsessed child who finds a Golden Ticket and is ultimately turned into a blueberry. —Jordana Comiter, People.com, 15 July 2025

Cooper Koch, who portrayed the younger brother Lyle Menendez and previously received a Golden Globe nomination for his breakthrough performance, was nominated for outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie. —Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 15 July 2025

As mentioned above John Lithgow will play the beloved Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, previously portrayed in the films first by Richard Harris in The Sorcerer’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets films and then by Michael Gambon in the rest of the movie installments. —Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 14 July 2025

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