portrayed

[pawr-treyd]

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.

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• unportrayed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of portrayed¹

portray ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Combs' team, however, has portrayed him as a reformed man who should receive a sentence of no more than 14 months in prison.

From BBC

Despite the pressure on mainstream media to whitewash Kirk’s rhetoric, ideology and approach to politics, people can look online to quickly verify that he wasn’t the saintly figure the right portrayed him to be.

From Salon

They are portrayed as morally righteous and spiritually pure.

From Salon

He appeared to mock the president when he said London was not "the wasteland of anarchy" it was sometimes portrayed.

From BBC

News accounts of the time portrayed Moore as an enigma.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• descriptive 
• illustrated 
• photographic 
• visual 
• vivid