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

Andrew Garfield is leading the feature that is now in production, portraying the leader of a ferocious rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II. —Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025

Trump then spoke before the Israeli Knesset, portraying the ceasefire as a personal and unparalleled victory. —Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025

Iran, which has sought to portray itself as a key player in the Palestinian cause as Israel's primary antagonist, will be absent from the summit in Egypt, where Trump is now headed, despite receiving an invitation. —Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025

And what Clarke does an excellent job of is portraying how, for families like this, the problem isn’t them. —Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 13 Oct. 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