portrayed

past tense of portray
1
2
as in characterized
to point out the chief quality or qualities of an individual or group traditionally, European authors portrayed the natives as wise and noble

Synonyms & Similar Words

3
as in depicted
to present a picture of a landscape that portrays the scenery near the town where the painter grew up

Synonyms & Similar Words

4

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of portrayed Both deaths are portrayed in the show. Jr Radcliffe, jsonline.com, 6 Oct. 2025 Sleepy Hollow Cemetery To ring in the spooky season, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery hosts an array of special events, including a murder mystery bash and evenings with Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe (who are portrayed by local storytellers). Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 5 Oct. 2025 However, there are some key differences in how Safdie portrayed pivotal scenes. Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Oct. 2025 The show opened with a skit mocking Hegseth, portrayed by comedian Colin Jost, ridiculing the Defense Secretary's address to military leaders in Quantico, Virginia, last week. Chandelis Duster, NPR, 5 Oct. 2025 The Donor Chloe Fineman and Sarah Sherman portrayed a couple asking their friend, played by Andrew Dismukes, to be a sperm donor during a dinner at a restaurant. Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE, 5 Oct. 2025 The only people who write him letters are serial killers who adore him, especially serial killers who were portrayed on the Netflix series Mindhunter (which Monster, for some reason, takes a swipe at with a frankly exhausting, metatextual parody). Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2025 He's been portrayed as a ruthless businessman, an evil scientist, and a vain politician, while actors have played the supervillain with differing strains of campy flash and genuine menace. Randall Colburn, EW.com, 12 Apr. 2025 Hargitay and Meloni, who portrayed Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler together on the long running NBC crime show, held hands in a photo posted by the Knicks official social media accounts. Jay Stahl, USA Today, 12 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portrayed
Verb
  • That's the number that showed up in the national media, in stories that described Phoenix as a hellscape, a place where children burned themselves trying to climb on playground equipment.
    Shaun McKinnon, AZCentral.com, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Stein described this technique as a form of dissociation—stripping language of the feelings that link it to our shared experience.
    Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The administration has also called out the arrest of Sortor, a 27-year-old conservative influencer, amid protests outside the ICE facility in Portland during what police characterized as a fight.
    Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2025
  • This species, found in waterholes surrounded by bamboo forests, is characterized by its rough skin and reddish-orange markings.
    Real-Time News team, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Her death is depicted in a scene in the Netflix series.
    Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 4 Oct. 2025
  • Some of the files reportedly depicted bestiality.
    Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Like Nabers, Beckham played college football for the LSU Tigers, and like Nabers, Beckham began his NFL career as a first-round draft pick for the Giants.
    Matt Audilet, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Mickey agreed, and Jimmy said Morgan played a great game.
    David Wysong, Cincinnati Enquirer, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Scottish powerhouse Lewis Capaldi performed on the episode.
    Bryan West, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The hospital performed a little over 4,000 deliveries in 2024, the most reported by any area hospital to the Wisconsin Hospital Association Information Center.
    Sarah Volpenhein, jsonline.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Various cultures interpreted the ephemeral aberrations as fairies, ghosts or spirits.
    Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Purses are given the art treatment, with versions interpreted in wood, pebbles or even a flurry of paper flowers, created by the brand’s teams.
    Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Portrayed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portrayed. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.

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