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

As the Korean Peninsula swelters through a heat wave, North Korean state media has touted everything from dog-meat soup to chicken broth as ways to cope, while portraying Kim Jong Un as a leader who endures harsh conditions alongside his people. — Reuters, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026

Hyde-Smith, first appointed and then elected in 2018, is using a familiar playbook of portraying her Democratic opponent as too liberal for Mississippi. — ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026

Republican groups have also highlighted other clips of Piker discussing his views, portraying the remarks as politically damning. — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 7 Aug. 2026

What’s more, the racial dynamics were deeply uncomfortable, with the heels often being played by people of color portraying racial stereotypes. — Literary Hub, 7 Aug. 2026

The castings, announced by New York City Center today, will see Pierce portraying the put-upon blockhead Charlie Brown and Edebiri as his loyal if irreverent beagle Snoopy. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026

For Rodriguez, portraying Jackie has given her the opportunity to grow alongside her character. — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2026

Banderas gets to lean into that belief with his role in the new biopic Tony, portraying a chef who shapes the early life of the late Anthony Bourdain (played by Dominic Sessa). — Julie Jordan, PEOPLE, 5 Aug. 2026

Conservative groups have spent months portraying him as too radical for Michigan, focusing on his policy positions, his criticism of Israel, and his association with the political commentator Hasan Piker. — Nik Popli, Time, 5 Aug. 2026