portray

[pawr-trey, pohr-]

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verb (used with object)

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

to depict in words; describe graphically.

to represent dramatically, as on the stage: He portrayed Napoleon in the play.

Origin of portray

1300–50; Middle English portrayen < Middle French portraire < Late Latin prōtrahere to depict, Latin: to draw forth, equivalent to prō- pro-¹ + trahere to draw

Related formspor·tray·a·ble, adjectivepor·tray·er, nounnon·por·tray·a·ble, adjectivepre·por·tray, verb (used with object)un·por·tray·a·ble, adjectiveun·por·trayed, adjective

Synonyms for portray

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR portray ON THESAURUS.COM

1, 2. picture, delineate, limn.

Synonym study

1, 2. See depict.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for portraying

depict, render, characterize, describe, paint, interpret, illustrate, delineate, picture, draw, figure, mimic, image, sketch, reproduce, duplicate, limn, simulate, impersonate, copy

Examples from the Web for portraying

Contemporary Examples of portraying

Were you playing up or, on the flip side, shying away from portraying a romantic attraction?
Inside the Lifetime Whitney Houston Movie’s Lesbian Lover Storyline
Kevin Fallon
December 16, 2014
Or one portraying the former KGB officer as a superhero surrounded by doves?
Hipster Putin Propaganda
Lizzie Crocker, Emil Lendof
October 17, 2014
Do you feel they did an ample job of portraying his troubled later years—in particular, the violence towards women?
Octavia Spencer on Hollywood and Race: The Film Roles I’m Offered Are Too Small
Marlow Stern
July 31, 2014
What goes into portraying one of the most terrifying villains on TV?
OITNB’s New Villain Vee, Played By Lorraine Toussaint, Speaks for the First Time
Kevin Fallon
June 13, 2014
This season has raised the bar on portraying psychotic breakdowns.
Some 4 a.m. Brainstorming on How to Make Obama Tougher Than Putin
Annabelle Gurwitch
May 23, 2014

Historical Examples of portraying

He began by portraying in ardent language the sufferings he had undergone.
The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus Vasa
Paul Barron Watson
"Those devouring eyes and that portraying hand," Emerson says.
Fresh Fields
John Burroughs
He saw that she was portraying what she had in her mind's eye.
The Red and the Black
Stendhal
In this work his individual manner of portraying a face is entirely formed.
Auguste Rodin
Rainer Maria Rilke
But they are useless from the point of view intended, as portraying a man.
The Christ Myth
Arthur Drews

British Dictionary definitions for portraying

portray

verb (tr)

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

to make a verbal picture of; depict in words

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

Derived Formsportrayable, adjectiveportrayal, nounportrayer, noun

Word Origin for portray

C14: from Old French portraire to depict, from Latin prōtrahere to drag forth, bring to light, from pro- 1 + trahere to drag

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for portraying

portray

mid-13c., "to draw, paint" (something), from Anglo-French purtraire, Old French portraire "to draw, to paint, portray" (12c.), literally "trace, draw forth," from por- "forth" (from Latin pro-; see pro-) + traire "trace, draw," from Latin trahere "to drag, draw" (see tract (n.1)). Meaning "depict in words, describe" is from late 14c. Related: Portrayed; portraying.