to portray
182
3.9
- verb
- /pɔrˈtreɪ/
:
retratar
- The novel does a remarkable job of portraying the struggles of the main character.
- portray life
- portray women
- portray the story
I can't, you know, I can't portray it as it actually is.
- I can't, you know, I can't portray it as it actually is.
- This is more complicated than what people like to portray as going on.
- The media, how we how we portray domestic violence.
- And I, I don't think CNN portrayed it in like a bad way.
- But the press portrayed the day as a mitigated disaster.
- How they portray themselves in the world is their image.
- Mexican migrants are portrayed as murderers and rapists.
- But they just, they'd only portray the nicer part.
- I didn't know how much I needed to portray, how much it was going to come across.
- Because I don't, I don't put myself, I don't portray myself as as a somebody.
- Quaid people too have been portrayed as courting death through risky lifestyles.
- Because even the person that's inspiring you, they're portraying themselves as something they're not even.
- But this was portrayed and hyped as this really, really big threat.
- You will hear her portray in this interview, whatever.
Examples
-
Diodorus's detailed account of Semiramis portrays her for the most part in a positive light.
Academic text (2017) -
The artist aims to portray the emotions of the subjects in her paintings.
-
Their purpose was to portray not a thought, but a mind thinking.
-
At the very least, both figures portray types that would have been easily recognized at the time.
Academic text (2012) -
It's many times more magnificent than any photograph can portray.
-
The studio portrayed you as the sort of typical American teenage girl next door.
-
In the media, Bremer's appointment was portrayed as a victory for the State Department over Defense.
Academic text (2013) -
There should be more books that portray fathers in caring and nurturing roles.
Academic text (2008) -
The picture book In Our Mothers' House by Patricia Polacco portrays a family with same-gender parents.
Academic text (2015) -
In the documentary, the filmmaker portrays the harsh realities of life in the city.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To use words to show what a person or thing is like
932
1.0
To make a picture of a person or place
301
3.5
To explain something using pictures or examples
255
3.4
To show an idea, feeling, or quality clearly
176
3.5
To show something in a picture or in words
126
2.6
Describe something in a particular way to show an idea
69
2.5
To make an image of a person or thing
58
3.7
To describe someone or something in detail so the reader can imagine them
52
6.3
To show an idea in an artistic way, for example in music, art, or translation
1
9.9
To show something clearly and with detail in painting or writing
Phrasal Verbs
43
5.3
To show yourself as a certain kind of person to make others think that way
How Detailed
Surface Forms
Etymology
Portray comes from old parts meaning 'forth' and 'to draw': pro- 'forth' and trahere 'to pull or draw'. So to portray someone in words is to 'draw' their life or features clearly with words, which is why it means to describe or depict them.