Adjacent Words

Portrait definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PORTRAIT, n. [Eng. to portray; pour; for, fore, and traire; L. trahere; Eng. to draw.] A picture or representation of a person, and especially of a face, drawn from the life.
In portraits, the grace, and we may add, the likeness, consist more in the general air than in the exact similitude of every feature.
PORTRAIT, v.t. To portray; to draw. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a word picture of a person's appearance and character [syn: portrayal, portraiture, portrait]
2: any likeness of a person, in any medium; "the photographer made excellent portraits" [syn: portrait, portrayal]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle French, from past participle of portraire Date: 1570 1. picture; especially a pictorial representation (as a painting) of a person usually showing the face 2. a sculptured figure ; bust, statue 3. a graphic portrayal in words

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a representation of a person or animal, esp. of the face, made by drawing, painting, photography, etc. 2 a verbal picture; a graphic description. 3 a person etc. resembling or typifying another (is the portrait of his father). 4 (in graphic design etc.) a format in which the height of an illustration etc. is greater than the width (cf. LANDSCAPE). Etymology: F, past part. of OF portraire PORTRAY

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Portrait Por"trait, n. [F., originally p. p. of portraire to portray. See Portray.] 1. The likeness of a person, painted, drawn, or engraved; commonly, a representation of the human face painted from real life. In portraits, the grace, and, we may add, the likeness, consists more in the general air than in the exact similitude of every feature. --Sir J. Reynolds. Note: The meaning of the word is sometimes extended so as to include a photographic likeness. 2. Hence, any graphic or vivid delineation or description of a person; as, a portrait in words. Portrait bust, or Portrait statue, a bust or statue representing the actual features or person of an individual; -- in distinction from an ideal bust or statue.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Portrait Por"trait, v. t. To portray; to draw. [Obs.] --Spenser.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(portraits) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. A portrait is a painting, drawing, or photograph of a particular person. Lucian Freud has been asked to paint a portrait of the Queen. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Representation (of a face or a person, drawn or painted), likeness, portraiture, picture.

Moby Thesaurus

Telephoto, Wirephoto, account, aerial photograph, black-and-white photograph, cameo, candid photograph, catalog, cataloging, certified copy, character, character sketch, characterization, cheesecake, chronophotograph, color photograph, color print, companion, copy, counterfeit, dead ringer, delineation, depiction, description, details, diapositive, dossier, double, duplicate, ectype, effigy, evocation, exact likeness, fair copy, faithful copy, fake, fellow, file, forgery, graphic account, head, heliochrome, heliograph, icon, idol, image, imagery, imitation, impression, itemization, likeness, limning, living image, living picture, match, mate, miniature, mirroring, model, montage, mug, mug shot, particularization, pasticcio, pastiche, phony, photo, photobiography, photochronograph, photograph, photomap, photomicrograph, photomontage, photomural, picture, picturization, pinup, portraiture, portrayal, profile, record, reflection, rendering, rendition, representation, resemblance, ringer, rubbing, semblance, shadow, shot, silhouette, similitude, simulacrum, sketch, slide, snap, snapshot, specification, spit, spit and image, spitting image, still, still photograph, story, study, telephotograph, thumbnail sketch, trace, tracing, transparency, twin, very image, very picture, vignette, vivid description, word painting