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

That more or less happened this week, with dozens of Fox News segments about Piker, portraying him as a left-wing kingmaker and the id of the socialist movement. — David Weigel, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Fallout continued Thursday for content creator and apparel brand Good Good Golf over an ad that was supposed to promote a new Callaway driver but ended up being criticized for portraying violence against women. — Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026

Banks, styled with his then-signature blond dreadlocks, was shown on screens in the courtroom chasing and shooting an actor whom prosecutors say was portraying rival rapper Quando Rondo. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 26 Aug. 2026

In 1993, he was nominated again, this time for portraying alcoholic actor Alan Swann in the musical My Favorite Year. — Lisa De Los Reyes, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026

Carvell is known for portraying Malcolm X opposite Forest Whitaker on the MGM+ series Godfather of Harlem. — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 26 Aug. 2026

And the family’s approval was one of Jaafar’s top priorities when portraying his late uncle, who died in 2009. — Daysia Tolentino, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Aug. 2026

Through its own websites, the mysterious group has been portraying itself as vigilantes out to rein in greedy video game developers. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 21 Aug. 2026

Russia has rejected all accusations of espionage, portraying them as part of anti-Russian hysteria. — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 21 Aug. 2026