portrait
Americannoun
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portraits
plural
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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.
See Examples For:
Coins in circulation in the UK carrying the portrait of King Charles have so far been limited to the 5p, 50p and £1.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
The only portrait of Henry’s older brother, Prince Arthur, made before Arthur’s premature death in 1502, joined the Hever lineup in 2005.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Teng, who produced the 2019 Oscar-nominated documentary short “St. Louis Superman,” a portrait of a local Black activist, once again ponders how much any one person can do to bring about change.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Before placing Castro's portrait in the window, Leonel Suarez gives it a kiss.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Beside that, there was a portrait of Lewis.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
But alongside these there are numerous portraits, photographs, sculptures, weavings and more that are only tenuously related to Pop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
He opens a folder and takes out a stack of large photographs: portraits of prisoners.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
I scroll through the portraits he’d emailed me: two women laughing, a family smiling, and my personal favorite, a pop-artish rendering of Gigi Hadid.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
Under a blazing sun, clad in black and clutching portraits of their slain leader Ali Khamenei, Iranian pilgrims streamed across the border into Iraq to observe the Arbaeen, the most revered event in Shia Islam.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
The same family portraits glared down at her, but now they seemed smug rather than austere.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
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.
