portrait
Americannoun
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a likeness of a person, especially of the face, as a painting, drawing, or photograph.
a gallery of family portraits.
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a verbal picture or description, usually of a person.
a biography that provides a fascinating portrait of an 18th-century rogue.
adjective
noun
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a painting, drawing, sculpture, photograph, or other likeness of an individual, esp of the face
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( as modifier )
a portrait gallery
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a verbal description or picture, esp of a person's character
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of portrait
1560–70; < Middle French: a drawing, image, etc., noun use of past participle of portraire to portray
Explanation
A portrait is a portrayal of a person, usually showing the person's face (but not always). A portrait can be a painting, a photograph, an ink drawing, a sculpture — or even a description in words or in a film. Portrait is a term often used when talking about artwork. Go to an art museum, especially one that has a historic collection, and you'll likely see many portraits hanging on the walls. Formal portraits were commissioned by wealthy people throughout history. A portrait can also be a written description of someone's appearance or character. If you describe your Mom in such detail that everyone can imagine what she's like, you've created a portrait of her.
Vocabulary lists containing portrait
Face It: Selfie Vocab
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Inside Out & Back Again
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"Earthquake"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The portrait commemorating his coronation, painted in Ramsay’s studio shortly after his crowning in 1761, hangs in London’s National Portrait Gallery.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026
Back at the Portrait Gallery, we can find Gainsborough’s 1783 portrait of Gen. Charles Cornwallis.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026
This includes a career-spanning survey at London’s National Portrait Gallery that will travel to Edinburgh’s Royal Scottish Academy, as well as exhibitions in Kassel, Germany, and Trondheim, Norway.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026
Bought for $236.4 million, "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer" by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt became the second most expensive work ever sold at auction.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
She ran the fingers of her left hand through my hair and stared at the Bahrami Family Portrait Gallery until she found a photo of my tenth birthday party.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
