portray

verb

por·​tray pȯr-ˈtrā 

pər-

portrayed; portraying; portrays

transitive verb

1

: to make a picture of : depict

2

a

: to describe in words

b

: to play the role of : enact

portrayer noun

Synonyms

• describe
• depict

Examples of portray in a Sentence

The White House has portrayed the President as deeply conflicted over the matter.

The lawyer portrayed his client as a victim of child abuse.

He portrayed himself as a victim.

The painting portrays the queen in a purple robe.

Laurence Olivier portrayed Hamlet beautifully.

Recent Examples on the Web

Andrew Garfield leads the feature that is now in production, portraying the leader of a ferocious rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II. —Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2025

To portray Bruce Springsteen, Jeremy Allen White had to learn to walk, talk and wail like one of rock’s most inimitable icons. —Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 20 Oct. 2025

The trio portrayed three of the Weasley children in the magical films, with James and Oliver starring as mischievous twins Fred and George and Bonnie as their youngest sibling, Ginny. —Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Oct. 2025

While Wright, 34, portrayed Ginny Weasley in the movies, James starred as Fred Weasley. —Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 20 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English portraien, purtrayen, purtreyen "to draw, paint, depict, decorate, form a mental image of," borrowed from Anglo-French purtraire "to represent (in drawing, painting, etc.), depict, decorate, plan (also continental Old French pourtraire), from pur-, pour-, por-, prefix marking completion of an action (going back to Latin prō-, prefix denoting forward movement) + traire "to drag, pull, draw out, launch, shoot, trace, represent," going back to Latin trahere "to drag, draw, take along" — more at pro- entry 2, abstract entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for portray

• airway
• allay
• archway
• array
• ashtray
• astray
• aue
• away
• ballet
• belay
• beltway
• beret

Kids Definition

portray

verb

por·​tray pōr-ˈtrā 

pȯr-

1

: to make a portrait of

2

a

: to describe in words

b

: to play the role of

portrayer noun