1
as in to describe
to give a representation or account of in words
the author portrays her characters with lifelike vividness
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to characterize
to point out the chief quality or qualities of an individual or group
traditionally, European authors portrayed the natives as wise and noble
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3
as in to depict
to present a picture of
a landscape that portrays the scenery near the town where the painter grew up
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4
as in to play
to present a portrayal or performance of
gained fame portraying Susan B. Anthony in a one-woman show
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of portray
The actor, 62, was cast as President Coriolanus Snow — the character famously portrayed by the late Donald Sutherland in the original Hunger Games films — in Lionsgate's upcoming adaptation of Suzanne Collins' prequel novel in the series back in May.
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Tommy McArdle, People.com, 21 June 2025
But many try to portray Iran’s hatred of Israel as some kind of thousand-year-old blood feud.
—Connor Okeeffe, Oc Register, 20 June 2025
Advertisement Failure to help bring peace to the Middle East could seriously dampen China’s recent efforts to portray itself as an effective global peacebroker, especially after Ukraine already rejected a peace plan Beijing had proposed in 2023.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 20 June 2025
Call Me Izzy, written by Jamie Wax, opens June 12, and sees Smart portray the title character, a woman who lives in rural Louisiana and yearns to write, but is held back by her husband.
—Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for portray
Tommy McArdle, People.com, 21 June 2025
But many try to portray Iran’s hatred of Israel as some kind of thousand-year-old blood feud.
—Connor Okeeffe, Oc Register, 20 June 2025
Advertisement Failure to help bring peace to the Middle East could seriously dampen China’s recent efforts to portray itself as an effective global peacebroker, especially after Ukraine already rejected a peace plan Beijing had proposed in 2023.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 20 June 2025
Call Me Izzy, written by Jamie Wax, opens June 12, and sees Smart portray the title character, a woman who lives in rural Louisiana and yearns to write, but is held back by her husband.
—Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for portray
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portray
Verb
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The album name had been rattling around her brain for months, born out of years of experiences trying to find the right combination of words to describe her sound to other people, particularly the American media.—
Cat Cardenas,
Rolling Stone,
30 June 2025
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Olsen describes her own workdays, raising four children while dreaming of writing, and watching that dream die.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
Verb
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The caliber is also characterized by a vertical clutch and column wheel mechanism with chronograph minutes displayed by a central hand that jumps forward every 60 seconds.—
Anthony DeMarco,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
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Newspapers have characterized the issues as a clash of personalities between the editor and presenter Naga Munchetty, who has herself been accused of making colleagues uncomfortable.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
1 July 2025
Verb
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The industry has come so far from what’s depicted in the show.—
David Blackmon,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2025
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Like at the Ssangyong factory, Gi-hun and his co-workers went on strike, which resulted in a violent clash with the police — a scene briefly depicted in episode 5 of Squid Game's first season.—
Christopher Rudolph,
People.com,
29 June 2025
Verb
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The third season of HBO’s The Gilded Age—in which Jacobson plays Marian Brook, a doe-eyed newcomer to late-1800s Manhattan high society—premiered a few days prior.—
Luna Adler,
Vogue,
1 July 2025
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Students were required to undertake certain extracurricular activities (Prevost was in the choir with Franks—both sing tenor—and played tennis) and to keep up their academic performance, but mostly the school’s focus was how to live in community.—
Belinda Luscombe,
Time,
1 July 2025
Verb
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The factory’s location in the Dong Nai province was chosen strategically for its proximity to apparel and textile production — as well as waste streams — with Vietnam representing the world’s third-largest textile exporter.—
Kate Nishimura,
Footwear News,
1 July 2025
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Studio Azuki itself represents a joint venture between NFT brand Azuki, Japanese companies Comisma Inc. and Xenotoon Inc.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
1 July 2025
Verb
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Flowering cherries are among gardeners' favorite spring blooming trees, but not all cherries perform well in the South.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
27 June 2025
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Modern executives must similarly create robust succession planning, knowledge transfer systems, and institutional memory, not just to perform well during their tenure, but to set up the next generation for success.—
Esade Business & Law School,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Verb
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Scenes like this expose a widening gap between the one billion imaging studies clinicians will order annually and the shrinking radiology workforce available to interpret them.—
Yidi Xu,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
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The chapter’s first section responds to a tendency in Harry Potter studies to interpret the series as if its version of magic portrays a profoundly different and salutary alternative to Muggle technology.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 June 2025
Verb
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While the audience members could still speak on the item about to be deferred, Rodriguez said, doing so would mean the public wouldn’t have the chance to address commissioners if the item ever came up for an actual vote at a future meeting.—
Douglas Hanks,
Miami Herald,
28 June 2025
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Apps which are meant to make users safer and more secure but are doing the very opposite.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portray.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portray. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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