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

Both portrayed struggles within families and among different generations. —Amitava Kumar, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2025

Shifting the Household Financial Paradigm Historically, popular culture often portrayed men as the family financiers while women managed daily household tasks. —Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025

John Lithgow is in final talks to play the beloved Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, previously portrayed in the films first by Richard Harris in The Sorcerer’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets films and then by Michael Gambon in the rest of the movie installments. —Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 7 Mar. 2025

Watching a teenage version of Pistorius (portrayed by Jett Harris in the flashbacks) sitting slumped over like a vegetable as life goes on around him is far from pleasant, nor does Ascher want to make it so. —Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 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