entitlement

American  

[en-tahy-tl-muhnt] / ɛnˈtaɪ tl mənt /

noun

1. the act of giving, or the state of having, a title, right, or claim to something.

   She supported legislation to improve the lot of the elderly, including the entitlement of senior citizens to vote by absentee ballot.

2. a provision, amount, etc., to which one is entitled; a right.

   A good education is the moral entitlement of every child.

   Temporary teachers receive most of the entitlements of permanent teachers, including annual salary, on a prorated basis.

3. a government program, such as Social Security or unemployment insurance, that provides a benefit to eligible participants, or the benefit provided by such a program.

   Eligibility for this insurance program will be affected if there is also a Medicare entitlement.

4. the unjustified assumption that one has a right to certain advantages, preferential treatment, etc..

   "Their sense of entitlement—I don't want to call it arrogance—makes dealing with some people difficult,'' said the senator.

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Etymology

Origin of entitlement

First recorded in 1825–35; entitle + -ment

Explanation

An entitlement is the right to a particular privilege or benefit, granted by law or custom. You have a legal entitlement to speak to a lawyer if you're ever arrested and put in jail. Your entitlement program at work might offer various benefits, or you might receive a medical entitlement once you reach a certain age. These are just basic things you get. More recently, entitlement has taken on a critical sense. If someone has a sense of entitlement, that means the person believes he deserves certain privileges — and he's arrogant about it. The term "culture of entitlement" suggests that many people now have highly unreasonable expectations about what they are entitled to.

Example Sentences

The MoJ said all new prisoners at the site were now provided with their full entitlement of clothing, bedding and towels.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

You see his demands, from where I’m sitting, as entitlement because he fails to understand that your nest egg did not come easy.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

On the spending side, they will likely need to revisit the structure of major entitlement programs.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

West, one of the grande dames of the movement, got her start at Seattle alt-weekly the Stranger and spent years excoriating fatphobia, online misogyny, and male entitlement for the ur-millennial-feminist site Jezebel.

From Slate • Mar. 31, 2026

The character has to project entitlement, a whiff of corrosive self-regard.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Related Words

• advantage
• allowance
• authority
• authorization
• benefit
• concession
• due
• exemption
• freedom
• immunity
• license
• opportunity
• prerogative
• right