Definition of PORTRAIT

portrait

Plural: portraits

Noun

  • A likeness of a person, especially of the face, painted, drawn, or photographed.
  • a word picture of a person's appearance and character
  • any likeness of a person, in any medium
    • "the photographer made excellent portraits"
  • A painting or other picture of a person, especially the head and shoulders.
  • An accurate depiction of a person, a mood, etc.
  • A print orientation where the vertical sides are longer than the horizontal sides.

Verb

  • To portray; to draw.

Adj

  • Representing the actual features of an individual; not ideal.

Examples

  • His final Scrabble board was a portrait of strategic brilliance, a masterpiece of words.
  • The author painted a good portrait of urban life in New York in his latest book.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle French portraict, pourtraict, nominal use of the past participle of portraire (“portray”), from Latin prōtrahō (< pro- + traho).
Compare typologically English drawing.

Antonyms

landscape, profile

Scrabble Score: 10

portrait: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
portrait: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
portrait: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

portrait: valid Words With Friends Word