portray

verb

por·​tray pȯr-ˈtrā 

pər-

portrayed; portraying; portrays

transitive verb

1

: to make a picture of : depict

2

a

: to describe in a particular way

The article portrayed the president as confident.

b

: to play the role of : enact

portrays the hero in the film

portrayer noun

Synonyms of portray

• describe
• depict

Examples of portray in a Sentence

The White House has portrayed the President as deeply conflicted over the matter.

The lawyer portrayed his client as a victim of child abuse.

He portrayed himself as a victim.

The painting portrays the queen in a purple robe.

Laurence Olivier portrayed Hamlet beautifully.

Recent Examples on the Web

His team has tried to portray Mann as a manipulator who used the Oscar-winning producer to access the glitz and glamor of Hollywood. —Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 1 May 2026

Producer Paul Taylor-Mills tells us exclusively that The Boy Who Lived will premiere at the Kiln Theatre in summer 2027 and the plan is for Holmes to portray himself. —Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 1 May 2026

McKidd has portrayed the trauma surgeon since the Season 5 premiere in 2008. —Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 1 May 2026

Although MySpace had serious design issues, it was often portrayed as far more dangerous than the evidence warranted. —Larry Magid, Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English portraien, purtrayen, purtreyen "to draw, paint, depict, decorate, form a mental image of," borrowed from Anglo-French purtraire "to represent (in drawing, painting, etc.), depict, decorate, plan" (also continental Old French pourtraire), from pur-, pour-, por-, prefix marking completion of an action (going back to Latin prō-, prefix denoting forward movement) + traire "to drag, pull, draw out, launch, shoot, trace, represent," going back to Latin trahere "to drag, draw, take along" — more at pro- entry 2, abstract entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for portray

• airway
• allay
• archway
• array
• ashtray
• astray
• aue
• away
• ballet
• belay
• beltway
• beret

Kids Definition

portray

verb

por·​tray pōr-ˈtrā 

pȯr-

1

: to make a portrait of

2

a

: to describe in words

b

: to play the role of

portrayer noun