entitled

adjective

en·​ti·​tled in-ˈtī-tᵊld 

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

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

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. —Christine Pelisek, Peoplemag, 7 Sep. 2023

When full rights to the four songs were sold for $1 million to the publisher Cotillion Music in 2000, Mr. Smith remained entitled to foreign royalties but netted less than $100,000 to escape bankruptcy. —Jon Pareles, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2023

On the other side, people paint a picture of an entitled liberal, just trying to get attention. —Janelle Bitker, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Feb. 2021

Research shows that people who have just been wronged or who are reminded of a time when they were wronged feel entitled to behave aggressively and selfishly, ignoring the suffering of others and taking more for themselves while leaving less to others. —Scott Barry Kaufman, Scientific American, 29 June 2020

Many of those in the workforce now also feel entitled to work from home. —WSJ, 9 June 2023

Just as the name Karen has become associated with an entitled busybody, memes portray Kyles as aggressive young men who like Monster Energy drinks and Axe body spray and who let out their rage by punching drywall. —Christine Hauser, BostonGlobe.com, 13 May 2023

There’s no love lost between him and the entitled boys he’s resented since birth. —Selome Hailu, Variety, 11 May 2023

See More

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined at sense 1