Portray

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Portray \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 draw. See {Trace}, v. t., and cf.
     {Protract}.]


     1. To paint or draw the likeness of; as, to portray a king on
        horseback.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Take a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray
              upon it the city, even Jerusalem.     --Ezek. iv. 1.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Hence, figuratively, to describe in words.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. To adorn with pictures. [R.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Spear and helmets thronged, and shields
              Various with boastful arguments potrayed. --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  portray
       v 1: portray in words; "The book portrays the actor as a selfish
            person"
       2: make a portrait of; "Goya wanted to portray his mistress,
          the Duchess of Alba" [syn: {depict}, {limn}]
       3: assume or act the character of; "She impersonates Madonna";
          "The actor portrays an elderly, lonely man" [syn: {impersonate}]
       4: represent in a painting, drawing, sculpture, or verbally;
          "The father is portrayed as a good-looking man in this
          painting" [syn: {present}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  74 Moby Thesaurus words for "portray":
     act a part, act out, bring to life, cartoon, catch a likeness,
     chalk, character, characterize, charcoal, chart, color, copy,
     crayon, create a role, crosshatch, dash off, daub, delineate,
     depict, describe, design, diagram, doodle, draft, draw, duplicate,
     enact, evoke, express, give words to, hatch, hit off, image,
     impersonate, interpret, limn, map, notate, outline, paint,
     paint a picture, pencil, personate, photograph, picture, picturize,
     play a part, play a role, play opposite, pose as, print, register,
     render, represent, reproduce, rub, schematize, scratch, scumble,
     set forth, shade, show, sketch, stencil, support, sustain a part,
     symbolize, take a part, take a rubbing, tint, trace, trace out,
     trace over, write