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
Other elements add more layers, including Cross getting ensnared in a Black Lives Matter protest and having Alex face a real freak of a nemesis, portrayed with depraved confidence by Ryan Eggold.
—
Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
Storied actor Denzel Washington has taken on the project of adapting August Wilson’s cycle of 10 plays that portray slices of Black life in each decade of the 1900s.
—Ronda Racha Penrice, NBC News, 9 Nov. 2024
This means that when AI gives you an answer that the AI portrays for example as fully aboveboard and hunky-dory, the reality is that the response is bound to be a lot shakier than you are being led to believe.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
In ancient Egyptian art, Apophis was frequently portrayed as a massive serpent, embodying chaos and darkness.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for portray 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
Storied actor Denzel Washington has taken on the project of adapting August Wilson’s cycle of 10 plays that portray slices of Black life in each decade of the 1900s.
—Ronda Racha Penrice, NBC News, 9 Nov. 2024
This means that when AI gives you an answer that the AI portrays for example as fully aboveboard and hunky-dory, the reality is that the response is bound to be a lot shakier than you are being led to believe.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
In ancient Egyptian art, Apophis was frequently portrayed as a massive serpent, embodying chaos and darkness.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for portray
Dictionary Entries Near portray
Cite this Entry
“Portray.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portray. Accessed 22 Nov. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share