portray

English

Alternative forms

• pourtray (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English portray, from Middle French portraire.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pɔːˈtɹeɪ/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /pɔɹˈtɹeɪ/
• Rhymes: -eɪ

Verb

portray (third-person singular simple present portrays, present participle portraying, simple past and past participle portrayed)

1. To paint or draw the likeness of.

   I will portray a king on horseback.

2. (figuratively) To represent by an image or look.
   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene ii:

     Upon his browes was pourtraid vgly death,
     And in his eies the furies of his heart,
     That ſhine as Comets, menacing reueng,
     And caſts a pale complexion on his cheeks.

3. (figuratively) To describe in words; to convey.
4. To play a role; to depict a character, person, situation, or event.

   For my next movie, I will be portraying Shakespeare.

5. (obsolete) To adorn.

Related terms

• portrait
• portrayal

Translations

to paint or draw the likeness of

• Bulgarian: изобразявам (bg) (izobrazjavam), рисувам портрет (risuvam portret)
• Dutch: portretteren (nl)
• Esperanto: portreti
• Finnish: piirtää (jonkun/jonkin) kuva
• French: dépeindre (fr), représenter (fr), portraire (fr)
• Galician: retratar
• German: porträtieren (de), abmalen (de)
• Greek: απεικονίζω (el) (apeikonízo)

  Aeolic: ἐϊκάσδω (eïkásdō)

  Ancient: εἰκάζω (eikázō)

• Hungarian: megfest (hu)
• Malagasy: maneho an-tsary, mampiseho (mg)
• Polish: portretować (pl)
• Portuguese: retratar (pt)
• Russian: изобразить (ru) pf (izobrazitʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: portretirati (sh)

• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: wótmólowaś impf

• Spanish: retratar (es)
• Swedish: porträttera (sv)

figuratively: to describe in words

• Azerbaijani: qələmə almaq
• Bulgarian: описвам (bg) (opisvam), обрисувам (bg) (obrisuvam)
• Esperanto: prezenti (eo)
• Finnish: kuvailla (fi)
• French: décrire (fr)
• German: porträtieren (de)
• Hungarian: leír (hu), lefest (hu)
• Korean: 묘사하다 (ko) (myosahada)
• Polish: portretować (pl), opisywać (pl)
• Spanish: describir (es)
• Swedish: skildra (sv), porträttera (sv)

to play a role

• Bulgarian: играя роля (igraja rolja)
• Finnish: esittää (fi)
• Russian: изображать (ru) impf (izobražatʹ)
• Swedish: gestalta (sv), porträttera (sv)

Anagrams

• Praytor, parroty