portray

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por·tray

 (pôr-trā′)
tr.v. por·trayed, por·tray·ing, por·trays
1. To depict or represent pictorially; make a picture of: The painter portrays a typical country scene.
2. To describe or represent in words: The author portrays the world of the fantastically wealthy.
3. To describe or depict in a certain way: The book portrays her as hardworking and driven.
4. To represent dramatically, as on the stage: The actor portrays an obsessed lover in the film.

[Middle English portraien, from Old French portraire : por-, forth (from Latin prō-, forth; see pro-1) + traire, to draw (from Latin trahere, to drag).]

por·tray′a·ble adj.
por·tray′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

portray

(pɔːˈtreɪ)
vb (tr)
1. (Art Terms) to represent in a painting, drawing, sculpture, etc; make a portrait of
2. to make a verbal picture of; depict in words
3. (Film) to play the part of (a character) in a play or film
[C14: from Old French portraire to depict, from Latin prōtrahere to drag forth, bring to light, from pro-1 + trahere to drag]
porˈtrayable adj
porˈtrayal n
porˈtrayer n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

por•tray

(pɔrˈtreɪ, poʊr-)

v.t.
1. to make a likeness of by drawing, painting, carving, etc.; depict.
2. to depict in words; describe graphically.
3. to represent dramatically, as on the stage: the actor who portrayed Napoleon.
[1300–50; Middle English < Middle French portraire < Late Latin prōtrahere to depict, Latin: to draw forth]
por•tray′er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

portray


Past participle: portrayed
Gerund: portraying

Imperative
portray
portray
Present
I portray
you portray
he/she/it portrays
we portray
you portray
they portray
Preterite
I portrayed
you portrayed
he/she/it portrayed
we portrayed
you portrayed
they portrayed
Present Continuous
I am portraying
you are portraying
he/she/it is portraying
we are portraying
you are portraying
they are portraying
Present Perfect
I have portrayed
you have portrayed
he/she/it has portrayed
we have portrayed
you have portrayed
they have portrayed
Past Continuous
I was portraying
you were portraying
he/she/it was portraying
we were portraying
you were portraying
they were portraying
Past Perfect
I had portrayed
you had portrayed
he/she/it had portrayed
we had portrayed
you had portrayed
they had portrayed
Future
I will portray
you will portray
he/she/it will portray
we will portray
you will portray
they will portray
Future Perfect
I will have portrayed
you will have portrayed
he/she/it will have portrayed
we will have portrayed
you will have portrayed
they will have portrayed
Future Continuous
I will be portraying
you will be portraying
he/she/it will be portraying
we will be portraying
you will be portraying
they will be portraying
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been portraying
you have been portraying
he/she/it has been portraying
we have been portraying
you have been portraying
they have been portraying
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been portraying
you will have been portraying
he/she/it will have been portraying
we will have been portraying
you will have been portraying
they will have been portraying
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been portraying
you had been portraying
he/she/it had been portraying
we had been portraying
you had been portraying
they had been portraying
Conditional
I would portray
you would portray
he/she/it would portray
we would portray
you would portray
they would portray
Past Conditional
I would have portrayed
you would have portrayed
he/she/it would have portrayed
we would have portrayed
you would have portrayed
they would have portrayed
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.portray - portray in words; "The book portrays the actor as a selfish person"
represent - serve as a means of expressing something; "The flower represents a young girl"
2.portray - make a portrait of; "Goya wanted to portray his mistress, the Duchess of Alba"
artistic creation, artistic production, art - the creation of beautiful or significant things; "art does not need to be innovative to be good"; "I was never any good at art"; "he said that architecture is the art of wasting space beautifully"
interpret, represent - create an image or likeness of; "The painter represented his wife as a young girl"
3.portray - assume or act the character of; "She impersonates Madonna"; "The actor portrays an elderly, lonely man"
performing arts - arts or skills that require public performance
act, play, represent - play a role or part; "Gielgud played Hamlet"; "She wants to act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role"; "She played the servant to her husband's master"
4.portray - represent abstractly, for example in a painting, drawing, or sculpture; "The father is portrayed as a good-looking man in this painting"
artistic creation, artistic production, art - the creation of beautiful or significant things; "art does not need to be innovative to be good"; "I was never any good at art"; "he said that architecture is the art of wasting space beautifully"
interpret, represent - create an image or likeness of; "The painter represented his wife as a young girl"
commend - present as worthy of regard, kindness, or confidence; "His paintings commend him to the artistic world"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

portray

verb
1. play, take the role of, act the part of, represent, personate (rare) He portrayed the king in a revival of 'Camelot'.
2. describe, present, depict, evoke, delineate, put in words the novelist accurately portrays provincial domestic life
3. represent, draw, paint, illustrate, sketch, figure, picture, render, depict, delineate the landscape as portrayed by painters such as Poussin
4. characterize, describe, represent, depict, paint a mental picture of complaints about the way women are portrayed in adverts
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

portray

verb
1. To present a lifelike image of:
2. To play the part of:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يُصَوِّر، يَرْسُميُمَثِّل دَورا
hrátportrétovatzpodobnit
afbildespille
gera/mála portrettleika
pavaizdavimasvaizdavimas
attēlotatveidottēlot
portretować
portrétovať
canlandırmakportresini yapmakresmini çizmek

portray

[pɔːˈtreɪ] VT
1. (= paint etc portrait of) → retratar
2. (= describe, paint etc) → representar, pintar
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

portray

[pɔːrˈtreɪ] vt
[artist] [+ person, society] → faire le portrait de; [+ landscape] → représenter
[writer] → dépeindre, représenter
[film, book, programme] → présenter
She says the programme portrayed her as dishonest → Elle dit qu'elle a été présentée dans l'émission comme quelqu'un de malhonnête.
[actor] → incarner
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

portray

vtdarstellen; (= paint also)malen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

portray

[pɔːˈtreɪ] vt (painter, writer, novel) → ritrarre; (painting) → raffigurare; (actor) → interpretare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

portray

(poːˈtrei) verb
1. to make a portrait of. In this painting, the king is portrayed sitting on his throne.
2. to act the part of. the actor who portrays Hamlet.
portrayal (poːˈtreiəl) noun
the act of portraying.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
Fielding and Smollett could portray the beastliness of their day in the beastliest language; we have plenty of foul subjects to deal with in our day, but we are not allowed to approach them very near, even with nice and guarded forms of speech.
The same thing holds good of Dithyrambs and Nomes; here too one may portray different types, as Timotheus and Philoxenus differed in representing their Cyclopes.
I am no storyteller, and love as it is cannot be portrayed in a literature dominated and enthralled by the debasing tyranny which "sentences letters" in the name of the Young Girl.
Found in a Bottle," "A Descent Into a Maelstrom" and "The Balloon Hoax"; such tales of conscience as "William Wilson," "The Black Cat" and "The Tell-tale Heart," wherein the retributions of remorse are portrayed with an awful fidelity; such tales of natural beauty as "The Island of the Fay" and "The Domain of Arnheim"; such marvellous studies in ratiocination as the "Gold-bug," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Purloined Letter" and "The Mystery of Marie Roget," the latter, a recital of fact, demonstrating the author's wonderful capability of correctly analyzing the mysteries of the human mind; such tales of illusion and banter as "The Premature Burial" and "The System of Dr.
Faces that fall into types you can describe, or at all events label in such a way that the reader can identify them; but those faces that consist mainly of spiritual effect and physical bloom, that change with everything they look upon, the light in which ebbs and flows with every changing tide of the soul,--these you have to love to know, and to worship to portray.
His soul palpitating with love of art, he painted the models who hung about the stairway of Bernini in the Piazza de Spagna, undaunted by their obvious picturesqueness; and his studio was full of canvases on which were portrayed moustachioed, large-eyed peasants in peaked hats, urchins in becoming rags, and women in bright petticoats.
To portray and interpret life in this way, to give his readers a sudden vivid understanding of its main forces and conditions in representative moments, may be called the first obvious purpose, or perhaps rather instinct, of Browning and his poetry.
The mural painting depicted scenes of rare and wonderful beauty; mountains, rivers, lake, ocean, meadow, trees and flowers, winding roadways, sun-kissed gardens--scenes which might have portrayed earthly views but for the different colorings of the vegetation.
To the house at the head of the bridge there had been affixed three small banners, representing the king, the dauphin, and Marguerite of Flanders, and six little pennons on which were portrayed the Duke of Austria, the Cardinal de Bourbon, M.
Nowhere do we find more vividly portrayed the psychology of the persons that lived in that turbulent period embraced between the years 1912 and
But when his door finally closed behind Anne and Leslie they knew that he went straight to it, and as they walked home they pictured the delight of the old man poring over the printed pages wherein his own life was portrayed with all the charm and color of reality itself.
At eve, within yon studious nook, I ope my brass-embossed book, Portray'd with many a holy deed Of martyrs crown'd with heavenly meed; Then, as my taper waxes dim, Chant, ere I sleep, my measured hymn.