Synonyms of portraying

portraying

verb

present participle of portray

1

as in describing

to give a representation or account of in words

the author portrays her characters with lifelike vividness

Synonyms & Similar Words

• describing
• depicting
• painting
• rendering
• characterizing
• illustrating
• picturing
• delineating
• defining
• representing
• setting out
• sketching
• recounting
• drawing
• limning
• relating
• outlining
• displaying
• summarizing
• showing
• telling
• narrating
• imaging
• demonstrating
• exhibiting
• reporting
• suggesting
• labeling
• reciting
• tracing
• hinting
• qualifying
• rehearsing
• drafting
• silhouetting
• summing up
• redescribing
• touching off
• reimaging
• vignetting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• distorting
• misrepresenting
• twisting
• falsifying
• coloring
• warping
• misstating
• perverting
• misdescribing
• garbling

2

as in characterizing

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

• describing
• characterizing
• depicting
• representing
• defining
• identifying
• charactering
• classifying
• categorizing
• indicating
• typing
• specifying
• pigeonholing
• marking
• distinguishing
• stamping
• naming
• coloring
• individualizing
• particularizing

3

as in depicting

to present a picture of

a landscape that portrays the scenery near the town where the painter grew up

Synonyms & Similar Words

• depicting
• representing
• describing
• picturing
• documenting
• imaging
• rendering
• showing
• outlining
• illustrating
• delineating
• sketching
• silhouetting
• caricaturing
• diagramming

4

as in playing

to present a portrayal or performance of

gained fame portraying Susan B. Anthony in a one-woman show

Synonyms & Similar Words

• playing
• performing
• depicting
• interpreting
• representing
• doing
• acting
• impersonating
• dramatizing
• enacting
• rendering
• imitating
• mimicking
• acting out
• masquerading
• aping
• taking on
• posing (as)
• pantomiming
• role-playing
• underplaying
• clowning
• playacting
• overplaying
• miming
• starring (in)
• overacting
• coacting
• hamming
• costarring

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of portraying

The Republican candidate for California governor is trying to make a scandal out of his Democratic opponent, Xavier Becerra, portraying himself as the son of Mexican immigrants. — Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

Cruise is actually playing an actor, Curtis Markson, who in turn is portraying Digger Rockwell in a satirical play called Fossil Fools. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 7 Oct. 2026

In a new interview, Ronan was asked about Lowden portraying the 007 agent in the film franchise. — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026

But to conservative Christian critics, even the possibility of portraying a divine Christ figure as anything but male goes beyond artistic license. — ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026

Armour invoked the murder of Emmett Till while connecting the controversy to America’s history of White women portraying Black people as threats. — Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026

Prosecutors sought a more substantial prison term, portraying Rivera as the leading participant in the operation. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026

Basically, what Thiel’s doing in his Antichrist speeches is portraying our current predicament as an existential battle between good and evil. — Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026

Both the editorial boards of The Wall Street Journal and the National Review have come out against the legislation, collectively portraying the idea as a way to line the pockets of big studio owners and actors and save failing unions. — Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026