PORTRAIT

• a painting, photograph, drawing, etc. of a person or, less commonly, of a group of people.

  She's commissioned an artist to paint her portrait/paint a portrait of her.

• a film or book which is a portrait of something is a detailed description or representation of it.

Her latest novel paints a very vivid portrait of the aristocracy in the 1920s.

TO PORTRAY

• to represent or describe someone or something in a painting, film, book or other artistic work.

  The painting portrays a beautiful young woman in a blue dress.

• If a person in a film, book, etc. is portrayed as a particular type of character, they are represented in that way.

  The father in the film is portrayed as a fairly unpleasant character.

PORTRAYAL

• the way someone or something is described or shown in a book, film, play, etc.