Portray

Definition: Portray

Portray

Verb

1. Portray in words; "The book portrays the actor as a selfish person".

2. Make a portrait of: "showing society what it looked like..portraying..its ugliness and its beauties..".

3. Assume or act the character of; "She impersonates Madonna".

4. Represent in a painting, drawing, sculpture, or verbally; "The father is portrayed as a coward in this play".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "portray" was first used: sometime around 1250. (references)

Note: Portray \Por*tray"\, transitive verb. [Written also pourtray.]. (references)

Synonyms: Portray

Description

Verb: describe; set forth; (state); draw a picture, picture; portray; (represent); characterize, particularize; narrate, relate, recite, recount, sum up, run over, recapitulate, rehearse, fight one's battles over again.

Representation

Verb: represent, delineate; depict, depicture; portray; take a likeness, catch a likeness; Noun: hit off, photograph, daguerreotype; snapshot; figure, shadow forth, shadow out; adumbrate; body forth; describe; trace, copy; mold.

Crosswords: Portray

Awwyou know that was the hardest part of having to portray youyou running like an idiot every fifteen minutes (Mission: Impossible II; writing credit: Bruce Geller; Ronald D. Moore)

Recently, I was asked to portray the sixty year old mother of an actor who played my lover three years ago. Apparently, I'm getting older while he's getting better (Women of the House; writing credit: Linda Bloodworth-Thomason)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Four principles that portray the pattern of all history : applied to the war against the States, 1861-1865 : address of March 7, 1979 at the monthly meeting of the Annie Coleman Chapter (Orlando, Florida) United Daughters of the Confederacy (reference)

• Gospels of Wealth: How the Rich Portray Their Lives (reference)

• Let me tell you about my God : the Psalms portray God (reference)

• Ploughshares Spring 1978: Men Portray Women, Women Portray Men (reference)

• Reporting on Risk: How the Mass Media Portray Accidents, Diseases, Disasters, and Other Hazards (reference)

  (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

This photograph was used in helping to accurately portray a laboratory environment in order to shoot a motion-picture project. Credit: CDC.

When growing as filaments, these Gram-positive rods are often said to portray a "Dust Bunny" appearance photomicrographically.

Rebecca Crow and Brandon Kames portray a pioneer couple at a wagon encampment. Credit: John Craig.

Nancy Harms and Dylan Prichertt portray pioneer woman and a black pioneer at an Oregon Trail wagon encampment. Credit: John Craig.

Members of the New York City Ballet portray Noah, his sons and their wives in the world premier of Igor Stravinsky's dance drama, "Noah and the flood" [...] on the CBS Television Network. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

I have felt bound to portray the shadow which, alike in the west and in the east, falls upon the world. ("Iron Curtain" Speech)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Civil Liberties

Liberia

In April the Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism publicly urged journalists to portray the country in a positive light; however, there were no reports that the Government acted against journalists who did not do so. The Government also announced the creation of a media advisory committee to reduce tensions between the Government and the press; however, there were no reports that tensions were reduced following its creation. (references)

Egypt

Government censors ensure that foreign films made in the country portray Egypt in a favorable light. (references)

Cameroon

This paper occasionally implies criticism of the Government; however, its reporters do not report extensively on activities or political parties critical of the Government, criticize overtly the ruling party, or portray government programs in an unfavorable light. (references)

Economic History

Serbia and Montenegro

Media reports featured F.R.Y. Government attempts to lure foreign investment into Serbia, prompting government spokesmen to portray such efforts as victories, regardless of the results. (references)

Libya

Late in the 1970s, Libyan embassies were redesignated as "people's bureaus," as Qadhafi sought to portray Libyan foreign policy as an expression of the popular will. (references)

Korea

At times, organized labor may portray a dispute as a nationalist issue. (references)

Political Economy

Western Sahara

However, in November as part of his Green March speech, the King pardoned all of those arrested during the September 1999 protests and also pardoned Mohamed Daddach, whom the Polisario had sought to portray as a political prisoner. (references)

Women

Venezuela

However, women's organizations assert that these figures are low and do not portray accurately the problem of rape and sexual assault. (references)

India

This harassment sometimes ends in the woman's death, which family members often try to portray as a suicide or kitchen accident; research suggests that a significant percentage of kerosene attacks also are due to domestic violence. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Expressions using "portray": man difficult to portray ♦ portray oneself. Additional references.

Albanian

portretizoj (limn, paint, profile), pikturoj (limn, paint, picture), paraqes (acquaint, bring in, bring up, delineate, demonstrate, denote, develop, display, feature, front, induct, introduce, introduce oneself, obtrude, offer, prefer, present, press, produce, propound, put, put in, recommend, render, represent, serve, show, stand for, submit), përshkruaj (characterize, delineate, depict, depicture, describe, draw, escribe, image, paint, picture, render), interpretoj (construe, explain, interpret, perform, personate, play, read, take). (various references)

Arabic 

‏مثل (act, adage, aphorism, appear, as, be a symbol for, be typical of, byword, case, depict, describe, example, exemplify, gnome, illustrate, illustration, instance, like, like this, maxim, perform, play, play act, proverb, represent, saying, sculpt, show, stand before, stand for, such, such as, symbolize, typify), ‏وصف (adjective, attributive, capacity, characterization, characterize, demonstrate, demonstration, depict, depiction, describe, description, dub, painting, picture, term), ‏صور (characterize, depict, describe, film, paint, photo, pic, picture, shoot, snap, take, typify), ‏رسم (block, charge, daub, depict, depiction, describe, description, design, draft, draught, draw, drawing, etch, etching, exhibit, figure to oneself, formalize, image, impost, lay, lay out, limn, line, mark out, pattern, pencil, picture, plotter, portrayal, protract, scrawl, sketch, tableau, trace, trace over, weave). (various references)

Bulgarian 

рисувам портрет, обрисувам (delineate, depict, outline, picture), описвам (depict, depicture, describe, draw, list, narrate, picture, record, report, represent to smb., write down), изпълнявам ролята на (personate). (various references)

Chinese 

畫像 (portrait), 刻画 (portrayed, Portraying). (various references)

Czech

portrétovat, zobrazit (depict, display, typify), vypodobnit, nakreslit (limn, picture, plan, trace). (various references)

Farsi 

مجسم کردن (Character, Depict, Embody, Epitomize, Figure, Image, Incarnate), توصیف کردن (Characterize, Describe), تصویرکشیدن . (various references)

Finnish

kuvata (be characteristic of, depict, describe, film, photograph, represent), kuvailla (describe, set forth). (various references)

French

portraiturer, peindre, représenter, faire le portrait, décrire. (various references)

German

porträtieren. (various references)

Greek 

ζωγραφίζω (depict, draw, limn, paint, picture), απεικονίζω (depict, typify). (various references)

Hebrew 

לתאר (depict, describe, narrate, picture, represent, write up), לציר (draw, limn, paint, picture). (various references)

Hungarian

lefest (depict, image, picture, to delineate, to depict, to limn, to picture, to portray), leír (amortise, amortize, depict, describe, note down, put down, to blazon, to delineate, to depict, to describe, to engross, to illustrate, to picture, to portray, to put down, to set down, to stick down, to transcribe, to write down, to write off, write down, write off), ábrázol (depict, illustrate, image, limn, represent, to delineate, to depict, to illustrate, to limn, to picture, to plot, to portray, to represent, to typify, to write down). (various references)

Indonesian

membawakan (bring, present, recite), melukiskan (describe). (various references)

Italian

ritrarre (depict, divert, draw back, get out, picture, portray oneself, represent, retract), raffigurare (be a symbol of, figure, imagine, picture, render, represent), interpretare (accept, construe, execute, interpret, play, read, render, translate, understand), descrivere (describe). (various references)

Korean 

초상화을 그리십시요. (various references)

Manx

cur coontey jeh (qualify, report, sketch in). (various references)

Pig Latin

ortraypay.(various references)

Portuguese

pintar (brush, coat, color, colour, dapple, depict, depicture, dope, fleck, limn, paint, picture, represent), retratar (delineate, depict, depicture, limn, paint, picture, reflect, represent, retract), representar (act, act for, appear, depict, depicture, do, execute, make, perform, personate, personify, play, represent, support, typify), descrever (account, characterize, depict, depicture, describe, design, narrate, relate, report, represent, tell, write). (various references)

Romanian

picta portretul, picta (colour, depict, describe, paint, paint in, pencil, picture), zugrãvi (decorate, delineate, depict, describe, paint, picture, whitewash, write), înfãţişa (bring, depict, describe, feature, image, lay out, make, paint, represent, show). (various references)

Russian 

подражать (ape, copy, counterfeit, echo, emulate, imitate, impersonate), изобразить (picture, representation), изображать на сцене, изображать (delineate, depict, describe, figure, image, limn, pictured, reflect, render, represent). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

slikati (limn, paint, photograph), oslikati. (various references)

Spanish

retratar (depict, introduce, offer, present, present with, put on the stage, represent, tender). (various references)

Swedish

avpoträttera. (various references)

Turkish

portresini yapmak, tasvir etmek (delineate, depict, describe, figure), tanımlamak (be descriptive of, characterize, define, describe, designate, diagnose, illustrate, qualify), oynamak (act, budge, dance, enact, Frisk, hop, interpret, jig, juggle, mess smth. about, monkey, move, perform, place one's bet, play, play around, play at, play on, play upon, play with, playact, represent, shake a leg, toy, work), canlandırmak (accelerate, animate, arouse, brace, bring to life, brisk, brisk up, characterize, drum up, enact, enliven, exhilarate, fortify, freshen, furbish up, galvanize, ginger, ginger up, give a fresh impetus to, hearten, impersonate, innervate, inspire, inspirit, interpret, invigorate, jazz, jazz up, jog, key up, liven, liven up, pep up, perform, personalize, personate, personify, play, play the role of, quicken, rake up, rally, recreate, refresh, regenerate, represent, revitalize, revive, revivify, rouse, rouse up, smarten, smarten up, spirit, spirit up, stimulate, tone up, touch up, uplift, vitalize, vivify, wake, waken). (various references)

Ukrainian

малювати портрет (describe), зображувати (image, limn, picture, show, simulate). (various references)

Welsh

portreadu (depict), delweddu, darlunio (depict, describe, picture), arlunio (draw, paint). (various references)

depinxit, expressa, expressam, expressas, expresserant, expressi, expresso, exprimeretis, pictis, pictura, picturae, picturam, picturas, pingere, pinxeris, trahere. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "portray": portrayal, portrayals, portrayed, portrayer, portrayers, portraying, portrays. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Portray" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: pooftah, Porirua, porra, portare, Porthau, Portora, Portoroz, portra, portrair, portrat, por'tray, portrayl, portrey, portry, protra, protray. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: parroty.

-1 letter: parrot, raptor, rotary.

-2 letters: aport, atopy, parry, party, payor, tarry.

-3 letters: arty, atop, orra, parr, part, paty, port, prao, prat, pray, proa, rapt, rato, roar, ropy, rota, ryot, taro, tarp, tora, torr, tory, trap, tray, trop, troy, typo, tyro.

-4 letters: apt, art, oar, oat, opt, ora, ort, par, pat, pay, pot, pro, pry, pya.

+1 letter: portrays.

+2 letters: apriority, portrayal, portrayed, portrayer, precatory, predatory, prefatory, probatory, purgatory, temporary.

+3 letters: cryptogram, expiratory, portrayals, portrayers, portraying, procaryote, prokaryote.

+4 letters: aortography, approbatory, arthropathy, arthroscopy, cartography, corporality, corporately, cryotherapy, cryptograms, cryptograph, cryptomeria, deprecatory, depredatory, exploratory, expurgatory, extemporary, imprecatory, inspiratory, orthography, parathyroid, petrography, polarimetry, postprimary, predicatory, preparatory, procaryotes, profanatory, prokaryotes, prokaryotic, proprietary, protomartyr, protonotary, rapturously, reprobatory, respiratory, temporarily, typographer.