as in depictions
a vivid representation in words of someone or something
his novel presents a moving portrayal of a woman searching for personal fulfillment and happiness
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Recent Examples of portrayals
These portrayals offer gentle surprises and a nice emotional balance.
—
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2026
Pentagon leaders’ positive portrayals present an incomplete picture at best, people familiar with intelligence assessments told us.
—Michael Scherer, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026
Also missing from the film are portrayals of Jackson’s daughter, Paris, and his siblings Rebbie, Randy and Janet, who apparently weren’t happy with many of the scenes.
—Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 25 Apr. 2026
And although the film includes portrayals of many of the Jackson siblings, some also asked to be left out of the biopic, including Janet.
—Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Cheadle, Young, and Ha deliver effortless portrayals.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 Apr. 2026
Others featured in the show have similarly criticized their portrayals.
—Brooke Migdon, PEOPLE, 16 Apr. 2026
These kinds of portrayals enforce biases that are damaging in the real world.
—Liza Lentini, SPIN, 14 Apr. 2026
At the same time, Muslim groups like Council on American-Islamic Relations and national interfaith coalitions such as Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign have worked with Christians to challenge these portrayals and promote more nuanced understandings of Islam.
—Anna Piela, The Conversation, 13 Apr. 2026
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2026
Pentagon leaders’ positive portrayals present an incomplete picture at best, people familiar with intelligence assessments told us.
—Michael Scherer, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026
Also missing from the film are portrayals of Jackson’s daughter, Paris, and his siblings Rebbie, Randy and Janet, who apparently weren’t happy with many of the scenes.
—Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 25 Apr. 2026
And although the film includes portrayals of many of the Jackson siblings, some also asked to be left out of the biopic, including Janet.
—Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Cheadle, Young, and Ha deliver effortless portrayals.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 Apr. 2026
Others featured in the show have similarly criticized their portrayals.
—Brooke Migdon, PEOPLE, 16 Apr. 2026
These kinds of portrayals enforce biases that are damaging in the real world.
—Liza Lentini, SPIN, 14 Apr. 2026
At the same time, Muslim groups like Council on American-Islamic Relations and national interfaith coalitions such as Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign have worked with Christians to challenge these portrayals and promote more nuanced understandings of Islam.
—Anna Piela, The Conversation, 13 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portrayals
Noun
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For its inaugural season, in partnership with the Vasarely Foundation, the hotel debuted an exhibition across its lawn that drew over 30,000 visitors, and each guest room features a work by Dutch painter Roan van Oort, who is known for his textured canvases and raw depictions of the natural world.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
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Though several artworks from the 1600s may well represent Shakespeare, only two are widely regarded as possibly accurate depictions.—
Gitanjali Roy,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The imagery, made in Haiti, New York, Florida, and her current home of Los Angeles, uses both personal, documentary photographs and more surreal, formal portraits to link Cadet’s personal history to a broader meditation on the Black diasporic experience.—
Elly Fishman,
Vogue,
8 May 2026
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Artists in the 18th century would often include a person of color, who would sometimes be imaginary, in their portraits of wealthy white sitters to embellish the painting and highlight the high status of the main subject, according to the researchers.—
Amarachi Orie,
CNN Money,
8 May 2026
Noun
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Surface is the third piece of the puzzle, though those descriptions are a little easier to grasp.—
Neil Greenberg,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
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The addition of spoken word passages by local Geordie poet Cooper Robson, who drifts through balladic descriptions of community, working-class masculinity, and pickled onions, aids Knats in their explorations of their hometown.—
Archie Forde,
Pitchfork,
1 May 2026
Noun
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Fallon showed framed pictures of him hanging out with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and posing with racecar studs Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar at the Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
7 May 2026
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Rittenhouse also posted pictures of himself in a hospital bed as well as a close-up shot of the spider's bite mark.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Portrayals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portrayals. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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