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

Much of that money has been used for TV advertisements and mailers portraying Vang as an extremist, highlighting her association with Piker and her refusal to say the Pledge of Allegiance. — Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 30 Oct. 2026

Trump linked to an article portraying the Quebec victory as a setback for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. — Arkansas Online, 29 Oct. 2026

And actress Sarah Pidgeon, who portrays Bessette Kennedy in Ryan Murphy’s series, is still channeling her style for red-carpet turns. — Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2026

As Godard portrayed it, the Greek epic was almost fated to attract and stump the most ambitious directors of our time, something that The New Yorker recently explored on the eve of Christopher Nolan’s adaptation. — Radhika Seth, Vogue, 29 Oct. 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
• assez
• astray
• aue
• away
• ballet
• belay
• beltway

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