portrayed; portraying; portrays
portrayer
noun
Synonyms
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
Opponents portray these efforts as part of a campaign to enforce conservative religious beliefs in schools and to make LGBTQ+ students and their stories invisible within the school community.
—
Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2024
Beta was even reluctant to be portrayed as building anything like a flying car.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Trump has portrayed both Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and trial Judge Juan Merchan as biased against him.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY, 14 Apr. 2024
In The Wedding Planner, McConaughey and Lopez portray Steve and Mary.
—Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Apr. 2024
Here, the Crandell mom (comedian Ms. Pat) is portrayed as an overworked, stressed out businesswoman who has a nervous breakdown when she’s passed over for a promotion at work.
—Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
The team, which includes cocky inspector portrayed by Nicholas Tse, soon discovers the corpses of the crew and a huge cache of weapons, including an extremely valuable compass suitable for piloting a submarine.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
Tom has also been portrayed over the years by Dennis Hopper and Barry Pepper.
—Esther Zuckerman, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
In the trailer, the characters, portrayed by Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton, team up in an effort to help Penelope find a husband and move out of her home.
—Jodi Guglielmi, Rolling Stone, 11 Apr. 2024
Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2024
Beta was even reluctant to be portrayed as building anything like a flying car.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Trump has portrayed both Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and trial Judge Juan Merchan as biased against him.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY, 14 Apr. 2024
In The Wedding Planner, McConaughey and Lopez portray Steve and Mary.
—Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Apr. 2024
Here, the Crandell mom (comedian Ms. Pat) is portrayed as an overworked, stressed out businesswoman who has a nervous breakdown when she’s passed over for a promotion at work.
—Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
The team, which includes cocky inspector portrayed by Nicholas Tse, soon discovers the corpses of the crew and a huge cache of weapons, including an extremely valuable compass suitable for piloting a submarine.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
Tom has also been portrayed over the years by Dennis Hopper and Barry Pepper.
—Esther Zuckerman, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
In the trailer, the characters, portrayed by Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton, team up in an effort to help Penelope find a husband and move out of her home.
—Jodi Guglielmi, Rolling Stone, 11 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'portray.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near portray
Cite this Entry
“Portray.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portray. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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