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

The complaint portrays the Mountain West as exploiting the Pac-12 at its weakest moment, when the collapse of the Pac-12 seemed plausible and when WSU and OSU were left stranded. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 27 Sep. 2024

Luckily Gaga is back in theaters portraying Harley Quinn alongside Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: Folie à Deux. —James Factora, Them, 27 Sep. 2024

Over the decades, the brothers have been subjects in documentaries, loosely portrayed on film and TV, and even parodied in comedies and sketch series. —Maira Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024

But life at home for the married actors who portrayed them, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, was much different. —Michael Gioia, Architectural Digest, 26 Sep. 2024

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

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