portray

verb

por·​tray pȯr-ˈtrā 

pər-

portrayed; portraying; portrays

transitive verb

1

: to make a picture of : depict

2

a

: to describe in a particular way

The article portrayed the president as confident.

b

: to play the role of : enact

portrays the hero in the film

portrayer noun

Synonyms of portray

• 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

Tom Holland portrays his son Telemachus while Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron and Jon Bernthal round out the ensemble. —Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 15 Apr. 2026

In the show, Michele played ambitious singer Rachel Berry, while McHale portrayed Artie Abrams, a film-loving student and key member of the New Directions glee club. —Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 15 Apr. 2026

She was recently seen filming in Venice, Italy, alongside Julia Garner, who was supposed to portray the pop icon in a biopic that was ultimately scuttled. —Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2026

The White House has portrayed Boasberg as a biased judge who overstepped his authority. —Arkansas Online, 15 Apr. 2026

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