The right or claim to something. In health law, the term entitlement programs refers to legislatively defined rights to health care, such as medicare and medicaid programs.
In psychodynamic psychiatry, entitlement usually refers to an unreasonable expectation or unfounded claim. An example is a person with narcissistic personality disorder who feels deserving of preferred status and special treatment in the absence of apparent justification for such treatment.
The amount of food or other necessities that people can command based on their income and assets, given the legal, political, economic, and cultural context in which they live.