portrait

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portrait

/ˈpɔːtɹeɪt/ UK
/ˈpɔːtɹɪt/ UK
/ˈpɔɹtɹət/ US
/ˈpɔɹtɹeɪt/ US
/ˈpoʊɹtɹət/
/ˈpoʊɹtɹeɪt/ rare
/ˈpoətɹɪt/
/ˈpoətɹeɪt/ rare

Where it comes from

From Middle French portraict, pourtraict, nominal use of the past participle of portraire (“portray”), from Latin prōtrahō (< prō- + trahō).

Compare typologically English drawing.

noun portraits · pourtraict

countable A painting or other picture of a person, especially the head and shoulders. In portraits, the grace, and, we may add, the likeness, consists more in the general air than in the exact similitude of every feature.
countable, figuratively An accurate depiction of a person, a mood, etc. The author painted a good portrait of urban life in New York in his latest book.
countable, uncountable A print orientation where the vertical sides are longer than the horizontal sides.

Opposite: landscape, profile

verb portraits · portraiting · portraited · pourtraict

obsolete To portray; to draw. But all as in most exquisite pictures, they vse to blaze and portrait, not only the daintie lineaments or beautie, but also round about it to shadowe the rude thickets and craggy clifts

adjective pourtraict

not comparable Representing the actual features of an individual; not ideal. a portrait bust; a portrait statue

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: portraiture, portrayal, picture, drawing, sketch, painting, photo, profiling, img, gallery, image, profile, photograph, depiction, effigy, vertically

noun

Opposite: landscape, profile

Translations

Every language

noun painting of a person

Español	retrato
한국어	초상 chosang, 초상화 chosanghwa
日本語	画像 gazō, 肖像 shōzō
中文	肖像 xiàoxiàng, 畫像 /画像 huàxiàng
हिन्दी	चित्र citra, तस्वीर tasvīr
Kiswahili	picha
Português	retrato
Français	portrait
Deutsch	Portrait, Porträt
Italiano	ritratto
Ελληνικά	προσωπογραφία prosopografía, πορτραίτο portraíto
Română	portret
Русский	портре́т portrét, парсу́на parsúna
Tiếng Việt	chân dung
العربية	صُورَة ṣūra, بُورْتْرِيَّة burtriyya
עברית	דְּיוֹקָן dyokán

noun an accurate depiction of a person, a mood, etc.

Español	retrato
中文	寫照 /写照 xiězhào
Deutsch	Portrait, Porträt
Italiano	ritratto
Ελληνικά	πορτραίτο portraíto
Română	portret, descriere
Русский	изображе́ние izobražénije, описа́ние opisánije, портре́т portrét

noun print mode

Español	modo retrato, modo vertical
Português	retrato
Français	portrait
Deutsch	Hochformat
Italiano	ritratto
Ελληνικά	κατακόρυφος προσανατολισμός katakóryfos
Русский	портре́тная ориента́ция portrétnaja orijentácija

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Cite this

MLA

"portrait." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/portrait. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

portrait. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/portrait

Chicago

"portrait." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/portrait.

BibTeX

@misc{portrait_2026,
  title = {portrait},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/portrait},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}