How to Use portray in a Sentence

portray

verb
  • The painting portrays the queen in a purple robe.
  • The lawyer portrayed his client as a victim of child abuse.
  • He portrayed himself as a victim.
  • The White House has portrayed the President as deeply conflicted over the matter.
  • Laurence Olivier portrayed Hamlet beautifully.
  • The dog also portrayed Skip in the 2000 film, My Dog Skip.
    Kate Hogan, Peoplemag, 16 Sep. 2023
  • The world is not as dangerous as the U.S. news portrays it to be.
    Diane Bell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2023
  • What were the origins of this idea of portraying Pinochet as a vampire?
    Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Aug. 2023
  • Blue is for Krishna, a Hindu god portrayed with blue skin.
    Maya Kachroo-Levine, Travel + Leisure, 26 May 2023
  • The first half, marked with a red X, portrays Quill dancing and letting loose.
    Brennan Kilbane, Allure, 16 Aug. 2024
  • The landscapes portray ideas as much as places, and high-tech fact as much as fiction.
    Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
  • Woody Guthrie will also be portrayed in the movie, though the actor cast for the role has not yet been announced.
    Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 23 Dec. 2023
  • There are a multitude of ways that the steps might be devised and portrayed.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024
  • In the book, these images are hidden on the flip sides of pages that portray an eight-year-old, Elif, on her first day of school.
    Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2023
  • Among this cast of suspects is Loretta Durkin, portrayed by Meryl Streep.
    Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 26 July 2023
  • Just west of Calgary is Canmore, a town that was used to portray Jackson, Wyoming.
    Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 26 Jan. 2023
  • The actress portrayed Professor Pomona Sprout in the film franchise.
    Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2024
  • John Belushi used to play him back in the day, with Darrell Hammond portraying the author in a play a few years back.
    Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 25 Feb. 2024
  • My friend Jane was falsely portrayed as a victim, and her attempts to set the record straight have been ignored.
    Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 9 May 2024
  • Online, fans often say that the two portray a 1990s type of love, a reference to a decade where Black love was seen in full force film and TV.
    Taylor Crumpton, TIME, 19 July 2024
  • The story, which reads as a simple recitation of the facts, portrays the decision to use the bomb as one made with sagacious care.
    Andy Kifer, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 July 2023
  • The role of the water deities, which the artist symbolically portrays in her photos and videos, is one of the artist’s additions to the tale.
    Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 17 May 2023
  • The study found that the 2016 family film Finding Dory was the only to not portray sharks as threats to humans.
    Staff Author, Peoplemag, 20 Dec. 2022
  • It should not be portrayed as merely an incident on a golf course.
    Nicole Russell, USA TODAY, 19 Sep. 2024
  • But since then, China has portrayed itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine war.
    Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
  • Quinn is careful not to portray all cryptocurrencies in the same light.
    Bywill Daniel, Fortune, 9 Jan. 2023
  • But videos, photos and survivors have portrayed many attacks across the region.
    The New York Times, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2023
  • Democrats like to portray themselves as going on the offensive on both.
    Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2024
  • While the movie portrays the events happening over a very short period, the Perrons actually lived in the house until 1980.
    Keith Langston, People.com, 20 Oct. 2024
  • Johnson has portrayed the former president since joining the show, taking over for Baldwin.
    Jenny Goldsberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 20 Oct. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'portray.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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