portray

  • 1Portray — Por*tray , v. t. [Written also {pourtray}.] [imp. & p. p. {portrayed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Portraying}.] [OE. pourtraien, OF. portraire, pourtraire, F. portraire, fr. L. protrahere, protractum, to draw or drag forth; pro forward, forth + trahere to… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2portray — c.1300, from Anglo Fr. purtraire, O.Fr. portraire to draw, to paint, portray (12c.), lit. trace, draw forth, from por forth (from L. pro ) + traire trace, draw, from L. trahere to drag, draw (see TRACT (Cf. tract) (1)) …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 3portray — I verb act, adumbrate, characterize, convey a verbal image, convey an impression, delineate, depict, depicture, depingere, describe, detail, draw, express, give words to, illustrate, limn, outline, paint, particularize, picture, present, recreate …

    Law dictionary

  • 4portray — *represent, depict, delineate, picture, limn Analogous words: image, photograph (see corresponding nouns at IMAGE): describe, *relate, narrate: reproduce, copy, duplicate (see corresponding nouns at REPRODUCTION) …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 5portray — [v] represent, imitate act like, characterize, copy, delineate, depict, describe, draw, duplicate, figure, illustrate, image, impersonate, interpret, limn, mimic, paint, parody, photograph, picture, render, reproduce, simulate, sketch; concepts… …

    New thesaurus

  • 6portray — ► VERB 1) depict in a work of art or literature. 2) describe in a particular way. 3) (of an actor) play the part of. DERIVATIVES portrayal noun portrayer noun. ORIGIN Old French portraire, from traire to draw …

    English terms dictionary

  • 7portray — [pôr trā′] vt. [ME purtreien < MFr portraire < L protrahere, to draw forth < pro , forth + trahere, to DRAW] 1. to make a picture or portrait of; depict; delineate 2. to make a word picture of; describe 3. to play the part of as in a… …

    English World dictionary

  • 8portray */ — UK [pɔː(r)ˈtreɪ] / US [pɔrˈtreɪ] verb [transitive] Word forms portray : present tense I/you/we/they portray he/she/it portrays present participle portraying past tense portrayed past participle portrayed 1) a) to show or describe someone or… …

    English dictionary

  • 9portray — verb ADVERB ▪ accurately ▪ clearly ▪ graphically, vividly ▪ an incident that graphically portrays the dangers associated with this sport ▪ The museum …

    Collocations dictionary

  • 10portray — v. (d; tr.) to portray as (to portray smb. as a hero) * * * [ pɔːtreɪ] (d; tr.) to portray as (to portray smb. as a hero) …

    Combinatory dictionary