Portray

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: {portray}, {depict}, {limn}]
    3: assume or act the character of; "She impersonates Madonna";
       "The actor portrays an elderly, lonely man" [syn:
       {impersonate}, {portray}]
    4: represent abstractly, for example in a painting, drawing, or
       sculpture; "The father is portrayed as a good-looking man in
       this painting" [syn: {portray}, {present}]
    

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.
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            Take a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray
            upon it the city, even Jerusalem.     --Ezek. iv. 1.
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   2. Hence, figuratively, to describe in words.
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   3. To adorn with pictures. [R.]
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            Spear and helmets thronged, and shields
            Various with boastful arguments potrayed. --Milton.
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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