entitled

adjective

en·​ti·​tled in-ˈtī-tᵊld How to pronounce entitled (audio)
en-
1
: having a right to certain benefits or privileges
After having saved the country, ain't they entitled to help themselves to just as much of it as they want?Mark Twain
2
: having or showing a feeling of entitlement (see entitlement sense 2)
spoiled, entitled children
his entitled attitude/behavior
leading an entitled life
We are also the so-called entitled generation, … told by helicopter parents and the media, from the moment we exited the womb, that we could be "whatever we wanted" …Jessica Bennett

Examples of entitled in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Then, once they’re hired, Gen Z workers tend to behave in an entitled way (60%) and are hard to manage well (26%), among other things. Mark C. Perna, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 And Marsden's exaggerated portrayal of an entitled Hollywood jerk trying to use his fame to get out of his civic duty was just the cherry on top to sell the bit even further. James Marsden Published, EW.com, 14 Dec. 2023 Having kept cargo flowing during the pandemic, union members feel entitled to a share of it. Peter Tirschwell, WSJ, 6 June 2023 The suspects are an array of entitled passengers and exhausted, possibly compromised crew members. Nina Metz, Twin Cities, 4 Jan. 2024 In comes Statham, the white knight of the middle class, whose real purpose in life is to defend the most vulnerable group in society from the entitled hipsters. Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 12 Jan. 2024 The authors' complaint said that as more writers have reported being replaced by AI content-writing tools, more authors feel entitled to compensation from OpenAI. Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 20 Sep. 2023 One of my top priorities is to ensure that Los Angeles will no longer be a hunting ground for Hollywood elite who feel entitled to prey on women. Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 28 Dec. 2023 Many of my co-workers and supervisees seem to feel some combination of entitled, indifferent or judgmental. Roxane Gay, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'entitled.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of entitled was in 1817

Dictionary Entries Near entitled

Cite this Entry

“Entitled.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/entitled. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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