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

Based on the real-life author, the second-oldest Ingalls daughter is portrayed as a tomboy and animal lover with a big heart. —Kelly Martinez, Entertainment Weekly, 12 June 2026

Mitre’s film portrays the birth of a civil resistance movement and the state’s infiltration operation designed to destroy it. —Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 12 June 2026

Trump has publicly commented on Paramount along the way, sometimes portraying the Ellisons as his friends and specifically expressing interest in the family taking over CNN. —Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 12 June 2026

Depicting her friendship with the trans actress Candy Darling (a sensitive turn by Stephen Dorff), the story portrays how Solanis came to write her notorious SCUM Manifesto (an acronym for the Society for Cutting Up Men) and the spiral of rejection that led to her desperate act of violence. —Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 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
• assez
• astray
• aue
• away
• ballet
• belay
• beltway

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