1
as in describes
to give a representation or account of in words
the author portrays her characters with lifelike vividness
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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3
as in depicts
to present a picture of
a landscape that portrays the scenery near the town where the painter grew up
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4
as in plays
to present a portrayal or performance of
gained fame portraying Susan B. Anthony in a one-woman show
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Recent Examples of portrays
Greenfield, who portrays Dave Johnson, shares two children with his wife Tess Sanchez.
—
Ariana Quihuiz, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
Natalie Wood portrays Lucy's daughter, Anna, and the actress shot to stardom later that same year by appearing in Miracle on 34th Street.
—Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
In the movie, Paul Walter Hauser portrays Springsteen’s guitar tech Mike Batlan, who sets him up with a four-track TEAC Tascam Series 144 tape recorder in a bedroom of the Colts Neck property.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
Jacob Elordi portrays the Creature, a collage of body parts reanimated during a storm.
—Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 24 Oct. 2025
In the 80-minute play, Dold brings to life 19 characters and believably portrays not only Philip and Harry, but is father and mother, a closeted boyfriend, the boyfriend’s folk-singing sister and their parents, and some others along the way – each are distinct.
—Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2025
In the 1939 Wizard of Oz movie, Bert Lahr portrays Lion, who meets Dorothy, Scarecrow and Tin Man along the Yellow Brick Road en route to the Emerald City.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 20 Oct. 2025
But the story never leaves us with a sense that anything is incomplete, as Shear eloquently portrays the ways that near-misses can still feel like cataclysmic life events.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 8 Mar. 2025
The actress that portrays Vanessa, Lauren Buglioli, has been working steadily since the mid-2010s, with guest appearances on series like FBI and the Dynasty reboot (which also featured Goings), and films like Jessica Lange's The Great Lillian Hall and the horror anthology film Horror Noire.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 7 Mar. 2025
Ariana Quihuiz, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
Natalie Wood portrays Lucy's daughter, Anna, and the actress shot to stardom later that same year by appearing in Miracle on 34th Street.
—Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
In the movie, Paul Walter Hauser portrays Springsteen’s guitar tech Mike Batlan, who sets him up with a four-track TEAC Tascam Series 144 tape recorder in a bedroom of the Colts Neck property.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
Jacob Elordi portrays the Creature, a collage of body parts reanimated during a storm.
—Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 24 Oct. 2025
In the 80-minute play, Dold brings to life 19 characters and believably portrays not only Philip and Harry, but is father and mother, a closeted boyfriend, the boyfriend’s folk-singing sister and their parents, and some others along the way – each are distinct.
—Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2025
In the 1939 Wizard of Oz movie, Bert Lahr portrays Lion, who meets Dorothy, Scarecrow and Tin Man along the Yellow Brick Road en route to the Emerald City.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 20 Oct. 2025
But the story never leaves us with a sense that anything is incomplete, as Shear eloquently portrays the ways that near-misses can still feel like cataclysmic life events.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 8 Mar. 2025
The actress that portrays Vanessa, Lauren Buglioli, has been working steadily since the mid-2010s, with guest appearances on series like FBI and the Dynasty reboot (which also featured Goings), and films like Jessica Lange's The Great Lillian Hall and the horror anthology film Horror Noire.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 7 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portrays
Verb
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In the book, Birger describes the house’s history as guiding its future.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
28 Oct. 2025
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Intensity, on the other hand, describes the level of ground shaking at various locations and can vary depending on distance from the epicenter and local geological conditions.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Protest organizers have trained thousands in de-escalation techniques and have promised the day will be safe, even as political rhetoric characterizes demonstrators as being aligned with terrorist forces.—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
18 Oct. 2025
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The White House regularly characterizes undocumented immigrants as drivers of urban lawlessness, even though the data show that is not true.—
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán,
NPR,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In the Odyssey, Homer depicts Helen and Menelaus’s reunion as uneasy and sometimes tearful, after years of estrangement.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
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The advertisement depicts Shipka as a normal woman who, after a stressful move into a new house, is haunted by a constant rotation of doomscrolling, late nights, and fatigue — represented by a monstrous double of herself.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Olivia Swann Swann plays NCIS Special Agent Captain Michelle Mackey on the international spinoff.—
Christopher Rudolph,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
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On Fridays patrons can enjoy light bites while a DJ plays a mix of Caribbean sounds; Saturdays they are treated to live music, and Sundays offer wellness with morning yoga, an afternoon drum class and evening jazz.—
Raisa Habersham,
Miami Herald,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Plants performs best in moist soils and partial shade to prevent drying out.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
27 Oct. 2025
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Platforms have been listening to advertiser concerns, Granger said, but the hope is to have Apple, Spotify and YouTube move to more of a standard, as advertisers look to see how an ad performs across all mediums.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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About the Technology The new AI engine is designed to automatically interprets goals, constraints, and deliverables to generate structured project plans — complete with milestones, dependencies, and timelines.—
Maria Williams,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
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Data assimilation interprets new data alongside historical data to come up with the most accurate forecast possible.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Al-Rasheed has also been a leader in urban development across Saudi Arabia and represents Saudi Arabia as a lead on Urban 20, which brings together mayors from major cities in G20 countries.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
29 Oct. 2025
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His swift rise has led some to wonder if his progressive agenda represents the future direction of the Democratic Party, which faces declining approval ratings.—
Brendan Rascius,
Miami Herald,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portrays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portrays. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.
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