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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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:
Evans initially seems to think they’re participating in a project closer to Netflix’s glossy portrait of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Together, the contrasting colors of mountains, farmland, islands, and surrounding seas create a vivid portrait of Italy as seen from space.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
A pen portrait from Germeney's mother, read out at the beginning of the inquest by the coroner, said Germeney and the children were "our complete world" and "were beautiful, funny, extremely kind, loving and caring".
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Marcelo Peressim, 50, who owns a packaging company, came out to Flavio Bolsonaro's rally with a portrait of the candidate's father.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
Like that mystery man in the background of the Washington family portrait, these enslaved people were hidden in the shadows of history.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
The less-known works—from a humorous three-screen video to solemn portraits made during military service—hold surprises outside the artist’s signature aesthetic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
I’ve yet to see a law firm’s online people directory featuring cartoon partner portraits, for example.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
After completing several portraits against the clock, the winner of the competition on SkyArts gets a £10,000 commission to paint British actor and musician Damian Lewis for the National Portrait Gallery.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
At the Nova site, mourners gathered in front of portraits both of festival-goers and security forces who died on October 7.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
They were a very old Dutch family: the portraits on the walls could have been a textbook of Holland’s history.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
