portray

American  

[pawr-trey] / pɔrˈtreɪ /

verb (used with object)

1. to make a likeness of by drawing, painting, carving, or the like.

   Synonyms:

   limn , delineate , picture

2. to depict in words; describe graphically.

   Synonyms:

   limn , delineate , picture

3. to represent dramatically, as on the stage.

   He portrayed Napoleon in the play.

---

portray British  

/ pɔːˈtreɪ /

verb

1. to represent in a painting, drawing, sculpture, etc; make a portrait of

2. to make a verbal picture of; depict in words

3. to play the part of (a character) in a play or film

---

Related Words

See depict.

Other Word Forms

• nonportrayable adjective
• portrayable adjective
• portrayal noun
• portrayer noun
• preportray verb (used with object)
• unportrayable adjective

Etymology

Origin of portray

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English portrayen, from Middle French portraire, from Late Latin prōtrahere “to depict,” Latin: “to draw forth,” equivalent to prō- pro- ¹ + trahere “to draw”

Example Sentences

He gushed about her “strong parenting and motherhood and female life element,” portraying her as reaching “younger religious women” with content about “sunscreen and parenting styles and the secret to fixing your period.”

From Salon

When AI-generated videos portray something that never happened with such realism, it stops being satire and is instead a false representation.

From Salon

With rare exceptions, bosses typically stand in as the villains in workplace movies and are often portrayed as manipulative, hard-driving taskmasters.

From The Wall Street Journal

There is a lot of AI software that can be used to make this trend, but not all can create the flawless content social media is portraying.

From BBC

The love of ambiguity can feel somewhat coy—Ms. Tokarczuk gestures toward the existence of occult mysteries without deigning to fully portray them.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• characterize
• depict
• describe
• illustrate
• interpret
• paint
• render