entitlement

E1N1T1I1T1L1E1M3E1N1T1
/ənˈtaɪtəlmənt/

noun

The right to have something.

Less commonScrabble 13
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Meanings

nounentitlement (countable and uncountable, plural entitlements)

plural entitlements

  1. countableuncountableThe right to have something.
  2. countableuncountableA person's perceived but unjustified right to something; a tendency to claim what one does not deserve.

    The auxiliary members of the royal family often have the greatest capacity to inflame public scepticism about monarchy, and Prince Harry once seemed determined to personify the entitlement and pointlessness that could have jeopardised the continuity of the crown.

    2017 December 27, “The Guardian view on Prince Harry: the monarchy’s best insurance policy”, in The Guardian
  3. countableuncountablePower, an authority to do something.
  4. countableuncountableSomething to which one is entitled.
  5. countableuncountablegovernmentA legal obligation on a government to make payments to a person, business, or unit of government that meets the criteria set in law, such as social security in the US.

Origin

From entitle + -ment.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech nárok, oprávnění
  • nárokthe right to have something
  • oprávněnísomething that one is entitled to
Dutch recht op, aanspraak
  • recht opthe right to have something
  • aanspraaksomething that one is entitled to
  • uitkeringa legal obligation on a government to make payments to a person, business, or unit of government
Esperanto pretendo, rajto
  • pretendothe right to have something
  • rajtopower, authority to do something
  • povopower, authority to do something
Finnish oikeutus, etuus
  • oikeutusthe right to have something
  • etuussomething that one is entitled to
French (avoir) droit sur, revendication
  • (avoir) droit surthe right to have something
  • revendicationsomething that one is entitled to
  • droitsomething that one is entitled to
  • allocationa legal obligation on a government to make payments to a person, business, or unit of government
German Anspruch, Berechtigung
  • Anspruchthe right to have something
  • Berechtigungthe right to have something
  • Anspruchsomething that one is entitled to
Hungarian jogosultság, igényjogosultság
  • jogosultságthe right to have something
  • igényjogosultságthe right to have something
Norwegian rett
  • rettthe right to have something
Portuguese direito, poder
  • direitothe right to have something
  • poderthe right to have something
  • ter direito athe right to have something
  • ter o direito dethe right to have something
  • poderpower, authority to do something
  • reivindicaçãosomething that one is entitled to
  • direitosomething that one is entitled to
  • alocaçãoa legal obligation on a government to make payments to a person, business, or unit of government
Russian пра́во, посо́бие
  • пра́во (právo)the right to have something
  • посо́бие (posóbije)a legal obligation on a government to make payments to a person, business, or unit of government
Spanish fuero, fuer
  • fuerothe right to have something
  • fuerthe right to have something
  • potestadpower, authority to do something
  • jurpower, authority to do something
Swedish anspråk, anspråk
  • anspråkthe right to have something
  • anspråksomething that one is entitled to
Cite this entry
APA

entitlement. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/entitlement

MLA

“entitlement.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/entitlement. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “entitlement,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/entitlement.

Source: entitlement on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.