Entitlement is a guarantee of access to benefits because of rights, or by agreement through law. It also refers, in a more casual sense to someone's belief that he/she is deserving of some particular reward or benefit.http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20030828.html It is often used as a negative term in popular parlance (i.e. a 'sense of entitlement'). The legal term, however, carries no value judgment: it simply denotes a right granted. In clinical psychology and psychiatry, an unrealistic, exaggerated, or rigidly held sense of entitlement may be considered a symptom of Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

In Land Development, the Entitlement Process is the legal method of obtaining approvals for the right to develop property for a desired use. (example: Re-zone)

In computer security, it can also refer to access control.

See also

• Culture of entitlement
• Entitlement Theory
• Amartya Sen