Meaning & use
portray
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To show or describe someone or something in a certain way, in words, pictures or other media.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with as: portray him as a hero.
Patterns
- portray someone as something
- portray something as something
The newspaper portrayed the mayor as a reformer.
The novel portrays village life with warmth.
Advertisements often portray families as always happy.
verbtransitive
To play the part of a character in a film or play.
Grammar: Takes a character as object: portray a king.
Patterns
- portray a character
She portrays a young doctor in the series.
He portrayed the president in the film.
The actor has portrayed many historical figures.
verbtransitive
To draw or paint a picture of someone or something.
Grammar: Takes an object: the painting portrays a family.
Patterns
- portray someone in something
The artist portrayed her in a blue dress.
The mural portrays the history of the town.
The stained glass portrays saints.
Word forms
| third person singular | portrays |
|---|---|
| past tense | portrayed |
| past participle | portrayed |
| -ing form | portraying |
Common combinations
- portray as
- The report portrays him as a victim.
- portray accurately
- The film portrays the era accurately.
- portray a character
- She portrayed a nurse.
- unfairly portrayed
- The company felt unfairly portrayed.
- portray vividly
- The author portrays the storm vividly.
Synonyms and how they differ
- depict
- Depict is slightly more formal and often used for pictures, while portray covers acting too.
- represent
- Represent is broader and can mean to stand for something, rather than to show a view.
- describe
- Describe only uses words, whereas portray can use images or acting.
- play
- Play is the everyday word for acting a role, while portray sounds more formal.
Opposites
Word family
- portrayal noun
- a particular way of showing or acting someone or something
- portrait noun
- a picture of a person
- portraiture noun
- the art of making portraits
Commonly confused: portray or betray?
portray vs betray
Betray means to be disloyal or reveal a secret, and sounds similar but means something else.
Practice
The documentary ___ the town as a place of hope rather than decline.
Choose one answer.
Portray as means to show in a particular way. Betray means to be disloyal, and pretends does not fit as.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “portray”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.