commend vs portray

commend and portray both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
commend	No	No	Yes	No
portray	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, portray is a hypernym of commend; that is, portray is a word with a broader meaning than commend:

commend: present as worthy of regard, kindness, or confidence
portray: represent abstractly, for example in a painting, drawing, or sculpture

Other hypernyms of commend include present.

commend (verb)	portray (verb)
express approbation of	portray in words
mention as by way of greeting or to indicate friendship	make a portrait of
express a good opinion of	assume or act the character of
give to in charge	represent abstractly, for example in a painting, drawing, or sculpture
present as worthy of regard, kindness, or confidence