Definitions for portray
pɔrˈtreɪ, poʊr-por·tray

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.3 / 6 votes

1. portrayverb

   portray in words

   "The book portrays the actor as a selfish person"

2. portray, depict, limnverb

   make a portrait of

   "Goya wanted to portray his mistress, the Duchess of Alba"

3. impersonate, portrayverb

   assume or act the character of

   "She impersonates Madonna"; "The actor portrays an elderly, lonely man"

4. portray, presentverb

   represent abstractly, for example in a painting, drawing, or sculpture

   "The father is portrayed as a good-looking man in this painting"

WiktionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 2 votes

1. portrayverb

   To describe in words; to convey.

2. portrayverb

   To adorn with pictures.

3. Etymology: portraire.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. To PORTRAYverb

   Etymology: pourtraire, Fr.

   1. To paint; to describe by picture.

   The Earl of Warwick’s ragged staff is yet to be seen portrayed in many places of their church steeple. Carew.

   Take a tile, and so portray upon it the city Jerusalem. Ez.

   Our Phenix queen was portrayed too bright,
   Beauty alone could beauty take so right. Dryden.

   2. To adorn with pictures.

   Shields
   Various, with boastful argument portray’d. John Milton.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. portray

   To portray is to depict or represent someone or something through a particular lens or perspective, often in a creative work such as a painting, film, book, or play. It can also refer to conveying certain characteristics or behaviors through one's actions.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Portrayverb

   to paint or draw the likeness of; as, to portray a king on horseback

2. Portrayverb

   hence, figuratively, to describe in words

3. Portrayverb

   to adorn with pictures

4. Etymology: [OE. pourtraien, OF. portraire, pourtraire, F. portraire, fr. L. protrahere, protractum, to draw or drag forth; pro forward, forth + trahere to draw. See Trace, v. t., and cf. Protract.]

Matched Categories

1. • Act
   • Art
   • Performing Arts
   • Represent

Anagrams for portray »

1. parroty

2. tropary

How to pronounce portray?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say portray in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of portray in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of portray in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of portray in a Sentence

1. Kazuo Okada:

   You may have some doubts as to what I've been doing because of the reports in the press, including Reuters and Asahi Shimbun, these are all misunderstandings. They portray me as if I'm a bad person but that's not the case.

2. Masayuki Suo:

   I wanted to portray how young Japanese girls feel and live with the traditions of Japan, lady Maiko.

3. Joe Desilets:

   Marco Rubio needs to stay on the attack like Marco Rubio has started to do so effectively and portray this Christie endorsement as nothing more than a selfish act.

4. Brian Grazer:

   Cynthia Erivo blew me away. Not only is Cynthia Erivo an incredible and bona fide star, but Cynthia Erivo is soulful and has tremendous depth as a musical artist, cynthia Erivo is the perfect person to portray the profoundly human story behind the genius that is Aretha.

5. John Cleese:

   I find it rather easy to portray a businessman. Being bland, rather cruel and incompetent comes naturally to me.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=portray
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Portray
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=portray
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portray