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

Chacon portrayed drummer Warren Rojas on Daisy Jones, which costarred Riley Keough, Camila Morrone, Suki Waterhouse, Timothy Olyphant, and Sam Claflin. —Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Jan. 2026

Newsom hedges his bets by portraying the budget as a placeholder that covers little more than spending increases driven by law, inflation and caseload until more revenue data are received. —Dan Walters, Mercury News, 13 Jan. 2026

Brody, known for his roles on screen in The Pianist and The Brutalist, will portray Yarris. —Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 13 Jan. 2026

Inside, you’ll be transported to the golden age of piracy and meet actors portraying famous pirates of the past, Wallsmith said. —Kari Barnett, Sun Sentinel, 13 Jan. 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