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

Rossum continued portraying street-wise Chicago South Sider, Fiona Gallagher, through Season 9 before exiting the series. — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 8 July 2026

The rebooted Netflix show addresses criticisms of Wilder’s work by giving diverse characters a larger role, a decision that prompted some to argue that the series would misrepresent the original books by portraying modern, progressive sensibilities. — Emily Staunton, Christian Science Monitor, 8 July 2026

This episode does a really great job at portraying Rhaenyra’s slip toward madness or, if not madness per se, then a much more unhinged version of her former self. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026

The Wadsworths actually met several years before Masters of the Universe while portraying Conan and Red Sonja in Universal Studios’ live Conan the Barbarian stunt show. — Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026

When House Republican Leader Paul Ryan proposed reforming Medicare, opponents ran a television ad portraying him pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair off a cliff. — Jessica Riedl, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026

These colonial reenactors spend their free time stitching historically accurate uniforms and portraying Revolutionary War figures. — Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 4 July 2026

Rather than acknowledging the reckless play that earned her suspension, Thomas immediately shifted the focus to herself, portraying her punishment, rather than the hit on Clark, as the real injustice. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026

And another person portraying General Washington was on hand to work the crowd. — Jennifer Ludden, NPR, 27 June 2026