entitled

comparative more entitled · superlative most entitled · alternative 'titled

1. literallyHaving a title.

   Her book is entitled 'My Autobiography'.

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

   He feels entitled to other people's respect.

   2 more examples

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

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

3. figurativelyConvinced of one's own righteousness (self-righteousness) or the justifiability of one's actions or status, especially wrongly so; demanding and pretentious.

   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?

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

   5 more examples

   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.

   1989, Allan Tasman, Robert E. Hales, Allen J. Frances, American Psychiatric Press Review of Psychiatry, American Psychiatric Pub, →ISBN, page 514

   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.

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

   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.

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

   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.

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

   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, Phil Torcivia, What a Nice Guy

alternative 'titled

1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of entitle