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
- portraitlike adjective
Etymology
Origin of portrait
1560–70; < Middle French: a drawing, image, etc., noun use of past participle of portraire to portray
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.
His language is supple and his portraits of characters invariably delightful.
On the wall of the sitting room is a striking portrait, a thin woman with perfect posture and laughing eyes.
From Literature
Though his acidic sense of humour -- criticised as condescending by some -- is evident throughout, Parr's 180 photographs also amount to a portrait of human folly and environmental destruction.
From Barron's
In tight formation, the inmates waited for lunch, their hands behind their backs and heads bowed, portraits of famous Ukrainians lining the hallway on either side of them.
From Barron's
And she does capture enough candid moments to provide a portrait of perfectionist people—who, like opera stars, have to be great actors while also doing astounding things with their physical gifts.
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.
