portrayed

American  

[pawr-treyd] / pɔrˈtreɪd /

adjective

1. represented in drawing, painting, carving, or other visual image.

   The range of artistic approaches to Queen Elizabeth, the most portrayed woman in the world, make the exhibit well worth seeing.

2. graphically described in words.

   In the finely portrayed characters and vivid details of the rural setting, his novel illuminates a neglected piece of Jamaican history.

3. represented dramatically, as on the stage.

   Set in a richly portrayed society well-stocked with eccentric nobles and gossipy villagers, the series revolves around the daughter of a respected country doctor.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of portray.

Other Word Forms

• unportrayed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of portrayed

portray ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Portrayed in youth by Grady Wilson, he grows up middle class in New Jersey as his mother resolves to raise him with the airs and graces of the gentry.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

Portrayed by Vander Hyde with a menacingly chipper aura, Tessa walks the knife’s edge between avatar of American superficiality and something more actively malevolent.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 12, 2023

Portrayed by Enrique Castillo, Montana, the leader of La Onda and a key character during the prison sequences, was inspired by the older inmates who took Baca under their wing.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2023

Portrayed by Westrate and Deborah Ann Woll, they’re two central characters in Szasz’s eagerly awaited revival of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer-winning play at Arena Stage.

From Washington Post • Mar. 24, 2023

Portrayed in countless U.S. history books and Hollywood westerns, the Indians of the Great Plains are the most familiar to nonscholars.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• descriptive
• illustrated
• photographic
• visual
• vivid