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.
  • Both deaths are portrayed in the show.
    — Jr Radcliffe, jsonline.com, 6 Oct. 2025
  • And as for the pup who portrays Merv?
    — Eric Andersson, PEOPLE, 10 Nov. 2025
  • For once, the scene was just like what’s portrayed in the movies.
    — Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Moore portrayed the hero in the show's first two seasons.
    — Angela Andaloro, People.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Why portray Dorothy as a doe-eyed ding-a-ling; as not just naive but dumb?
    — Lili Anolik, Vanity Fair, 12 Jan. 2026
  • The brands like to portray skin care as a normal part of childhood play.
    — Nancy Walecki, The Atlantic, 25 Feb. 2026
  • The way that it was portrayed was accurate.
    — Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Oct. 2025
  • The landscapes portray ideas as much as places, and high-tech fact as much as fiction.
    — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
  • It should not be portrayed as merely an incident on a golf course.
    — Nicole Russell, USA TODAY, 19 Sep. 2024
  • The two also had issues with the way their father was portrayed.
    — Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 31 Dec. 2025
  • There are a multitude of ways that the steps might be devised and portrayed.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024
  • In news reports, Ale was portrayed as a baby thief.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 14 Feb. 2026
  • Pratt is portrayed as Batman in the video, swooping in to save the day.
    — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026
  • Fans will no doubt be thrilled to see Peeves finally portrayed on screen.
    — K.j. Yossman, Variety, 15 June 2026
  • Who knows how the Wienermobile will be portrayed years from now.
    — Sean Joseph Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2026
  • That’s not to say Rastignac is portrayed as a saintly figure.
    — Big Think, 29 Apr. 2026
  • There’s something to be said about the story of what the music portrays.
    — Kyle Eustice, SPIN, 10 June 2026
  • Jagger also had no actor in mind to portray him.
    — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 26 June 2026
  • Trump has portrayed the deployment as a lifeline for the city.
    — Gary Fields, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2026
  • Your monarch doesn’t portray power in the same way that a queen from another realm might.
    — Adam Rathe, Town & Country, 16 Sep. 2022
  • The records also portray her as terrified for her life.
    — Liz McNeil, PEOPLE, 17 June 2026
  • Key portrays art thief Ed Mackey.
    — Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2025
  • The bloody conflict has been portrayed in films for several decades.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Apr. 2026
  • Olyphant will portray Lucky’s father John.
    — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 3 Feb. 2026
  • The chance to portray the spouse of the first Black naval aviator was a unique one for her as well.
    — Brande Victorian, Essence, 23 Nov. 2022

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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