How to Use portrayal in a Sentence

portrayal

noun
  • That kind of portrayal still feels rare.
    — Jennifer Obel, Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 2026
  • Kirk praised the show’s portrayal of him.
    — Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
  • John’s portrayal as a soulless hunk might have its seeds of truth.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
  • The portrayal of her on the streaming thing is bulls---.
    — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Mar. 2026
  • The portrayal of class, though, feels both less rich and less stark here than in Ernaux’s book.
    — Lidija Haas, The New Republic, 12 May 2022
  • There is no detail of his public portrayal that does not concern him.
    — Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2025
  • There are remnants of his portrayals from more than 200 years ago.
    — Julia Gaffield, The Conversation, 15 Oct. 2025
  • The book is one of the funnier portrayals of a writing program.
    — David O’Neill, New Yorker, 20 May 2026
  • What was most important to you with your approach to this portrayal?
    — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2024
  • But the box score alone isn’t a fair portrayal of what happened in Westwood.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2026
  • Remnick asked Wintour if she was hurt by the portrayal.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Yaroslavsky, in turn, said Yebri had been dishonest in his portrayal of her.
    — David Zahniserstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2022
  • This approach allows for a well-rounded portrayal of the sport.
    — Melissa Noel, Essence, 25 Oct. 2023
  • Here are some of the trope’s most infamous portrayals, across genre, gender and weapon of choice.
    — Mathew Rodriguez, Them., 23 Sep. 2025
  • Next to Disney's portrayal of Luke, of course.
    — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 May 2026
  • Schultz brought a blankness to his portrayal of a man who famously had charisma to spare.
    — Andy Kifer, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 July 2023
  • However, contrary to many portrayals, your skin wouldn't burst right away.
    — Alan Bradley, Space.com, 8 May 2026
  • His portrayal remains one of the TV world’s gifts to fans of slick lawmen.
    — Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, 18 July 2023
  • In line with most media portrayals, students tend to be horrified by it.
    — Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 22 Aug. 2025
  • But while there's a certain amount of shock and awe to the portrayal of this very unique life, there's a lot of humor and heart, too.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 8 Oct. 2025
  • The portrayal of witchcraft and the Sanderson sisters in the new film had to change to meet the times.
    — The Salt Lake Tribune, 7 Oct. 2022
  • The discourse around your portrayal of Sofia Falcone was hard to miss.
    — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 15 July 2025
  • None of that dulls the original game, nor its portrayal of Alma.
    — Will Borger, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
  • In Bale’s portrayal in Vice, Cheney got the last word.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Lee’s portrayal could be read as that of a cunning Jezebel, a woman out to destroy the man who loves her.
    — Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Oct. 2024
  • Overall, Lighton sought to be nuanced in his portrayal of the couple.
    — Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Her portrayal earned her a Golden Globe for best actress.
    — Andrea Wurzburger, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Winkler, 79, was a fan favorite on the show for his portrayal of Fonzie.
    — Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Ahead, see how similar the cast's portrayal is to the real people the series is based on.
    — Samantha Olson, Seventeen, 19 Sep. 2022
  • Sam’s portrayal of the role in the trailer is restrained and suits the situation at hand.
    — Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'portrayal.' 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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