What does "entitlement" mean?

The right to have something, whether actual or perceived.

What is a synonym for "entitlement"?

Common synonyms include: authority, authorization, certification, clearance, countenance, due.

Pronounced //ənˈtaɪtəlmənt//.

//ənˈtaɪtəlmənt// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The right to have something, whether actual or perceived. countable, uncountable
"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."
2
right granted by law or contract (especially a right to benefits) wordnet
3
Power, an authority to do something. countable, uncountable
4
Something to which one is entitled. countable, uncountable
5
A 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. countable, uncountable

"There is nothing more out-of-date than youthful entitlement."

From entitle + -ment.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.