entitlement

[en-tahy-tl-muhnt]

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of entitlement¹

First recorded in 1825–35; entitle + -ment

Example Sentences

For the working parent entitlement, you can apply once your child is 23 weeks old but the funding starts at the beginning of the term after the child reaches nine months old.

From BBC

He also did not rule out tightening up eligibility for universal credit or removing entitlement for health-related universal credit payments to those under the age of 22.

From BBC

This includes help in signing up for bursaries or other programmes to obtain full funding entitlements, and supporting career development.

From BBC

In its response, the government said it would work with work with industry and across departments to consider ways to "improve the messaging" about the implications of savings and investments on benefit entitlement.

From BBC

The charity says a child with working parents eligible for the entitlements will receive three times as much government-funded early education than a disadvantaged child by the time they start school.

From BBC

Related Words

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