as in descriptions
a vivid representation in words of someone or something
his account created in the jurors' heads a detailed portrait of a lonely old man
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Recent Examples of portraits
On the north side of the building, black-and-white portraits of six local community members are painted larger than life, watching over the neighborhood.
—
Kansas City Star, 23 Jan. 2026
Whether set in Jewish eastern Europe or New York’s Lower East Side, Shtok’s range is on full display, from gossipy melodramas and elegiac reveries to coming of age portraits of shtetl adolescents and immigrant hustlers.
—Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Her larger-than-life fiber art portraits, some scaling 14 feet, feature hand embroidery with media including yarn, thread, hook mesh, assorted paints and other materials.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026
Rose Byrne, who have dominated the early awards conversation for their portraits of mothers struggling with unimaginable challenges, earned best actress nominations.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
Artist Amy Sherald, whose work documents the African American experience through intimate portraits, has signed with CAA for representation.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 21 Jan. 2026
The project, which began in 2008 and has travelled across cities including Cartagena, Havana, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Berlin and Istanbul, uses monumental portraits of older residents as a record of civic memory.
—Nel-Olivia Waga, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Schjerfbeck’s portraits are not about showing you a person’s appearance and essence but, rather, about taking them away.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
Above the presidential portraits is gold lettering that matches the new Rose Garden sign, titling the makeshift exhibit.
—Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 13 Jan. 2026
Kansas City Star, 23 Jan. 2026
Whether set in Jewish eastern Europe or New York’s Lower East Side, Shtok’s range is on full display, from gossipy melodramas and elegiac reveries to coming of age portraits of shtetl adolescents and immigrant hustlers.
—Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Her larger-than-life fiber art portraits, some scaling 14 feet, feature hand embroidery with media including yarn, thread, hook mesh, assorted paints and other materials.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026
Rose Byrne, who have dominated the early awards conversation for their portraits of mothers struggling with unimaginable challenges, earned best actress nominations.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
Artist Amy Sherald, whose work documents the African American experience through intimate portraits, has signed with CAA for representation.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 21 Jan. 2026
The project, which began in 2008 and has travelled across cities including Cartagena, Havana, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Berlin and Istanbul, uses monumental portraits of older residents as a record of civic memory.
—Nel-Olivia Waga, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Schjerfbeck’s portraits are not about showing you a person’s appearance and essence but, rather, about taking them away.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
Above the presidential portraits is gold lettering that matches the new Rose Garden sign, titling the makeshift exhibit.
—Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 13 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portraits
Noun
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Job descriptions aren’t always accurate.—
Kathy Kristof,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Jan. 2026
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In contrast, the nearby portraits of presidents from Joe Biden to Bill Clinton are all accompanied by descriptions of their years in office, including Clinton’s 1998 impeachment.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
There’s been a couple of fun AI pictures.—
Yvonne Villarreal,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Jan. 2026
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Posters of rock bands were replaced with pictures of Serbian saints and stately World War I generals.—
Aleksandar Hemon,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Using a combination of AI classification and human review, researchers estimated that about 65 percent of all images were sexualized depictions of people, and a small but significant fraction involved children.—
The AI Insider,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Jan. 2026
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But this is a volume that builds and surprises on many fronts, the cacophony of love and discontent reifying into filigreed depictions of the familial ties that bind.—
Chloe Schama,
Vogue,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Since its 2023 debut, the show has resonated for its raw portrayals of participants shaped by divorce, grief, illness and major life decisions.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Jan. 2026
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Calvo argued to the Herald that fictional portrayals should help establish a better image of the city, not harm it.—
Verónica Egui Brito,
Miami Herald,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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That impressive and varied résumé, plus his background in architecture, won Mulier the plum post at Alaïa, where collections start with 3D shapes rather than flat sketches.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
30 Jan. 2026
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There are also costume sketches, props and behind-the-scenes looks.—
Alyson Rodriguez,
Dallas Morning News,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Portraits.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portraits. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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