Link Centre Dictionary

portray

port·ray

UK/pɔːˈtɹeɪ̯/ US/pʰɔːˈtɹ̝̊eɪ̯/ uncommon obsolete

verb

1.

portray in words

  • “The book portrays the actor as a selfish person”
2.

make a portrait of

  • “Goya wanted to portray his mistress, the Duchess of Alba”
Synonyms
3.

assume or act the character of

  • “She impersonates Madonna”
  • “The actor portrays an elderly, lonely man”
Synonyms
4.

represent in a painting, drawing, sculpture, or verbally

  • “The father is portrayed as a good-looking man in this painting”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English portray, from Middle French portraire.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.