Entitled

/ɪnˈtaɪtl̩d/ · adjective

Meaning

(literally) Having a title..

Definitions by Sense

1. (literally) Having a title.
2. Having a legal or moral right or claim to something.
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.
4. simple past and past participle of entitle

Example Sentences

Her book is entitled 'My Autobiography'.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Synonyms for entitled

Antonyms for entitled

Related Words

Word Forms

• more entitled
• most entitled
• 'titled

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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