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

• delineate
• depict
• describe
• draw
• image
• limn
• paint
• picture
• render
• set out
• sketch

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

Oh Ae-sun (played by K-pop superstar IU, who also portrays Ae-sun’s daughter Geum-myeong) is a poor but ambitious girl who grows up on South Korea’s Jeju Island in the 1950s and 1960s. —Regina Kim, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025

The feds’ case portrayed the mogul as a ruthless and micromanaging boss who, during the two decades before his September 2024 arrest, abused his larger-than-life status in the industry to control his employees and lovers alike through violence and intimidation. —Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 24 June 2025

The company aimed to portray someone overcoming obstacles to achieve their dream. —Andrew Ravens‎, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025

Until now, the answer had been an easy one for spectacular sisterly duo Agnes van Rhijn and the former Ada Brook, splendidly portrayed by Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon. —Ronda Racha Penrice, HollywoodReporter, 23 June 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