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

• delineate
• depict
• describe
• draw
• image
• limn
• paint
• picture
• render
• set out
• sketch

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

The many actors who have portrayed the character on screen include Alan Rickman, Ben Mendelsohn and Matthew Macfadyen. —Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2025

But Bill Nye, former Science Guy and current C.E.O. of the Planetary Society, has portrayed the dream of Mars colonization as a dangerous delusion. —Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025

By the time Bar-Kar contacted her with the hopes of portraying her life onscreen, Ian put her through the paces and asked her to make a 20-minute film as a pitch. —Audra Heinrichs, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2025

But Navis also had the challenge of portraying some very different communities — including most of Mo’s sojourn in Mexico City — mostly on location in Houston. —Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 9 Feb. 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

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