entitled

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈtaɪtl̩d/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: en‧tit‧led

entitled

1. simple past and past participle of entitle

• 'titled

entitled (comparative more entitled, superlative most entitled)

1. (literally) Having a title.

   Her book is entitled 'My Autobiography'.

2. Having a legal or moral right or claim to something.

   As a natural-born citizen I am entitled to run for president.

   If you were injured at work you may be entitled to compensation.

   He feels entitled to other people's respect.

3. (figuratively) Convinced of one's own righteousness (self-righteousness) or the justifiability of one's actions or status, especially wrongly so; demanding and pretentious.
   • 1989, Allan Tasman, Robert E. Hales, Allen J. Frances, American Psychiatric Press Review of Psychiatry, American Psychiatric Pub, →ISBN, page 514:

     THE STRAIN OF DEALING WITH ENTITLED PEOPLE. Dealing with people who are generally convinced that life (and, in particular, the clinician) owes them something can be very wearisome work — particularly if on some level (usually unconscious) the clinician believes it is appropriate (and necessary for a feeling of competence and self-worth) to satisfy this special need. […] Entitled people can be even more difficult when they have the resources in the form of prestige, power, and/or wealth to transcend the usual bonds of social reality, or when they have the bitterness and tenacity to use legal action in the face of real or imagined failings on the part of the clinician.

   • 2003, Richard M. Billow, Relational Group Psychotherapy: From Basic Assumptions to Passion, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, →ISBN, page 107:

     People feel entitled to their entitlement, and frequently feel defensive when it is challenged. As a mechanism of defense, entitlement may be protectively maintained, denied, or disowned, and also projected to make the leader feel entitled.

   • 2005, W. Keith Campbell, When You Love a Man Who Loves Himself, Sourcebooks, Inc., →ISBN, page 20:

     In one research study, for example, we wanted to see if highly entitled people would actually take candy from children. […] He held up a bucket of Halloween candy that he said was supposed to go to the children in the developmental lab. Clearly, this was candy meant for children. The question was, would the entitled people take the candy? The experimenter passed it around the room and secretly counted the amount of candy that people took. As we expected, the entitled people took the most candy.

   • 2008, Gordon Patzer, Looks: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, →ISBN, page 40:

     Thus, some men feel entitled to sex if they buy their date a nice meal or a few drinks. In decades past, more than a few women felt entitled to a marriage commitment after an exclusive dating relationship had lasted for some commonly agreed upon period of time—say, a year.

   • 2011, Phil Torcivia, What a Nice Guy:

     Nothing irks me more than entitled people. I understand that if we don't ask for what we want, we probably won't get it, but expectations are out of whack. Certain people unjustly expect to receive special treatment and they'll whine and pout like children when disappointed.

   • 2011, Steve White, Please Change Your Mind, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 23:

     And when you feel entitled, you don't ask for help, you demand it. What will happen when these people's entitlements are taken away? They'll be outraged. They'll feel like they've lost a God-given right. So, what are they likely to do?

   • 2012, John Mauk, John Metz, The Composition of Everyday Life, Concise Edition, Cengage Learning, →ISBN, page 267:

     It's not merely that students shouldn't feel entitled to high grades. Bruno goes further and discovers the double jeopardy of entitlement: Those who feel entitled are “missing out” on their own educations: […]

   • 2013, William H. Reid, Stuart B. Silver, Handbook of Mental Health Administration and Management, Routledge, →ISBN, page 525:

     Iudith Bardwick is an expert on employees like that, who feel “entitled” to their jobs but don't do very much to deserve them. She says entitlement behavior has little to do with intelligence or experience, and everything to do with motivation and fear. Leadership should not be delegated to “entitled” people. They don't make very good team members, either, although they may work acceptably in groups. And there is a difference between teams and groups. Deepdown, many people who feel entitled are very concerned about security and anxious about change.

   • 2013, John Bishop, God Distorted: How Your Earthly Father Affects Your Perception of God and Why It Matters, Multnomah Books, →ISBN:

     We are not sure what caused the argument among the disciples; they simply viewed themselves as more important than they really were. Entitled people can rarely see their own attitudes.

   • 2014, Emmy Laybourne, Monument 14: Savage Drift, Macmillan, →ISBN, page 16:

     “Jake always acts so entitled. Like he deserves her—like I don't.” “But she's really into you, right?” Alex asked me. “Astrid?” I nodded.

   • 2015, Square Enix, Life Is Strange:

     Look at these entitled assholes… they don't give a shit about anybody.

• authorized, empowered (sense 2 only)

• entitlement