Synonyms of portrays

portrays

verb

present tense third-person singular of portray

1

as in describes

to give a representation or account of in words

the author portrays her characters with lifelike vividness

Synonyms & Similar Words

• describes
• depicts
• paints
• renders
• characterizes
• illustrates
• delineates
• sets out
• defines
• represents
• recounts
• limns
• images
• sketches
• summarizes
• draws
• pictures
• outlines
• narrates
• relates
• tells
• demonstrates
• shows
• suggests
• displays
• exhibits
• recites
• reports
• qualifies
• traces
• labels
• hints
• rehearses
• sums up
• vignettes
• silhouettes
• drafts
• reimages
• touches off
• redescribes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• distorts
• misrepresents
• colors
• falsifies
• misstates
• warps
• perverts
• twists
• garbles
• misdescribes

2

as in characterizes

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

• characterizes
• describes
• depicts
• defines
• represents
• characters
• identifies
• types
• classifies
• indicates
• categorizes
• specifies
• pigeonholes
• colors
• distinguishes
• stamps
• marks
• individualizes
• particularizes
• names

3

as in depicts

to present a picture of

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• depicts
• represents
• describes
• images
• pictures
• renders
• illustrates
• delineates
• outlines
• shows
• documents
• sketches
• silhouettes
• diagrams
• caricatures

4

as in plays

to present a portrayal or performance of

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• plays
• depicts
• performs
• interprets
• represents
• does
• impersonates
• acts
• dramatizes
• renders
• enacts
• imitates
• mimics
• acts out
• underplays
• pantomimes
• overplays
• masquerades
• poses (as)
• takes on
• role-plays
• mimes
• stars (in)
• overacts
• apes
• hams
• playacts
• costars
• clowns
• coacts

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of portrays

The actor remains tight-lipped about season four, except revealing that Bradley Whitford, who portrays Grace’s husband, first gentleman Todd, has a bigger role as expected. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 1 Aug. 2026

Motoki portrays Murashige as curiously recessive — someone who has laid waste to myriad foes and has now lost his taste for bloodshed. — Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2026

That’s the takeaway from a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which portrays a shifting tax landscape in the states. — Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 30 July 2026

This runs contrary to the way the Iranian leadership portrays itself. — Natasha Lindstaedt, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

But overall, the baseball union portrays MLB’s proposal as a Frankenstein assembled from the least generous pieces of other leagues. — Evan Drellich, New York Times, 28 July 2026

Zendaya plays the ancient Greek goddess Athena, and Holland portrays Telemachus, son of Matt Damon’s Odysseus and Anne Hathaway’s Penelope, in the new epic from Christopher Nolan. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 27 July 2026

Drawing on the testimonies of 255 workers across eight factories in Pakistan, the report portrays an industry beset by pervasive unlawful wages, excessive working hours, harassment, bullying, surveillance and intimidation. — Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 24 July 2026

Tahan portrays Roger Quincy, an off-kilter man who doesn’t want to be defined by his past but can’t seem to stay stay away from it. — Denise Petski, Deadline, 23 July 2026