Entitlement vs. Right — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Maham Liaqat — Updated on April 15, 2024
Entitlement refers to benefits guaranteed by law or policy, while rights are fundamental privileges inherent to all individuals.
Difference Between Entitlement and Right
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Entitlements are provisions granted to individuals by the government or organizations through laws or policies, aiming to provide support or benefits such as social security or healthcare. On the other hand, rights are fundamental ethical and legal privileges that every individual inherently possesses, regardless of legal statutes, and include freedoms like speech and religion.
While entitlements often require specific qualifications or conditions to be met for individuals to receive benefits, rights are universally applicable to all individuals and do not require any conditions for their exercise. Whereas entitlements are often subject to political and social debate and can vary greatly between different societies and government systems.
Entitlement programs are typically funded and administered by governments and can change with political climates or economic conditions. In contrast, rights are generally recognized by national constitutions or international human rights treaties and are meant to be protected and upheld irrespective of government changes.
Entitlements can be seen as a societal agreement on what its members deem necessary for a decent standard of living, thus they can be modified or rescinded by governments. Rights, however, are often viewed as inalienable and universal, critical to the dignity and freedom of the individual, making them more permanent and less susceptible to change.
Entitlements often require active provision or actions by the government or other institutions to ensure they are delivered, such as funding for unemployment benefits. Rights typically require governmental restraint from interference, ensuring that individuals can exercise their rights freely without obstruction.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Benefits provided by law or policy
Inherent privileges of all individuals
Dependency
Conditional on laws and policies
Universal and unconditional
Source
Government or organizational policies
Constitutions or moral principles
Stability
Can be changed or revoked
Generally inalienable and enduring
Government role
To provide and ensure access
To protect and prevent interference
Compare with Definitions
Entitlement
A government-provided benefit.
Social Security is an entitlement for retired individuals.
Right
A fundamental liberty.
Freedom of speech is a basic human right.
Entitlement
Claim to certain privileges.
Their job grants them an entitlement to special discounts.
Right
An inherent entitlement.
Access to clean water should be considered a universal right.
Entitlement
A right to benefits stipulated by law.
Employees have an entitlement to paid leave.
Right
A morally justified claim.
Everyone has a right to live free from discrimination.
Entitlement
Provision of assistance.
The entitlement program aids families in need.
Right
A legally protected privilege.
Citizens have a right to vote in elections.
Entitlement
Legal guarantee of access to benefits.
Under the law, children have an entitlement to education.
Right
A principle of freedom.
The right to privacy is essential in a democratic society.
Entitlement
An entitlement is a provision made in accordance with a legal framework of a society. Typically, entitlements are based on concepts of principle ("rights") which are themselves based in concepts of social equality or enfranchisement.
Right
Conforming with or conformable to justice, law, or morality
Do the right thing and confess.
Entitlement
The act or process of entitling.
Right
In accordance with fact, reason, or truth; correct
The right answer.
Entitlement
The state of being entitled.
Right
Fitting, proper, or appropriate
It is not right to leave the party without saying goodbye.
Entitlement
A government program that guarantees and provides benefits to a particular group
"fights ... to preserve victories won a generation ago, like the Medicaid entitlement for the poor" (Jason DeParle).
Right
Most favorable, desirable, or convenient
The right time to act.
Entitlement
The right to have something, whether actual or perceived.
Right
In or into a satisfactory state or condition
Put things right.
Entitlement
Power, authority to do something.
Right
In good mental or physical health or order.
Entitlement
Something that one is entitled to.
Right
Intended to be worn or positioned facing outward or toward an observer
The right side of the dress.
Made sure that the right side of the fabric was visible.
Entitlement
(politics) 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.
Right
Of, belonging to, located on, or being the side of the body to the south when the subject is facing east.
Entitlement
A right granted by law or contract, especially to financial benefits from the government.
Right
Of, relating to, directed toward, or located on the right side.
Entitlement
Right granted by law or contract (especially a right to benefits);
Entitlements make up the major part of the federal budget
Right
Located on the right side of a person facing downstream
The right bank of a river.
Right
Often Right Of or belonging to the political or intellectual right.
Right
Formed by or in reference to a line or plane that is perpendicular to another line or plane.
Right
Having the axis perpendicular to the base
Right cone.
Right
Having a right angle
A right triangle.
Right
Straight; uncurved; direct
A right line.
Right
(Archaic) Not spurious; genuine.
Right
That which is just, moral, or proper.
Right
The direction or position on the right side.
Right
The right side.
Right
The right hand.
Right
A turn in the direction of the right hand or side.
Right
The people and groups who advocate the adoption of conservative or reactionary measures, especially in government and politics. Also called right wing.
Right
The opinion of those advocating such measures.
Right
(Sports) A blow delivered by a boxer's right hand.
Right
(Baseball) Right field.
Right
A just or legal claim or title.
Right
Something that is due to a person or governmental body by law, tradition, or nature.
Right
Something, especially humane treatment, claimed to be due to animals by moral principle.
Right
An existing stockholder's legally protected claim to purchase additional shares in a corporation ahead of those who are not currently stockholders, especially at a cost lower than market value.
Right
The negotiable paper on which such an entitlement is indicated.
Right
Toward or on the right.
Right
In a straight line; directly
Went right to school.
Right
In the proper or desired manner; well
The jacket doesn't fit right.
Right
Exactly; just
The accident happened right over there.
Right
Immediately
Called me right after dinner.
Right
Completely; quite
The icy wind blew right through me.
Right
According to law, morality, or justice.
Right
Accurately; correctly
Answered the question right.
Right
Chiefly Southern US Considerably; very
They have a right nice place.
Right
Used as an intensive
Kept right on going.
Right
Used in titles
The Right Reverend Jane Smith.
Right
To put in or restore to an upright or proper position
They righted their boat.
Right
To put in order or set right; correct
Measures designed to right generations of unfair labor practices.
Right
To make reparation or amends for; redress
Right a wrong.
Right
To regain an upright or proper position.
Right
(archaic) Straight, not bent.
A right line
Right
(geometry) Of an angle, having a size of 90 degrees, or one quarter of a complete rotation; the angle between two perpendicular lines.
The kitchen counter formed a right angle with the back wall.
Right
(geometry) Of a geometric figure, incorporating a right angle between edges, faces, axes, etc.
A right triangle, a right prism, a right cone
Right
Complying with justice, correctness or reason; correct, just, true.
I thought you'd made a mistake, but it seems you were right all along.
It's not right that one person gets all the credit for the group's work.
Right
Appropriate, perfectly suitable; fit for purpose.
Is this the right software for my computer?
Right
Healthy, sane, competent.
I'm afraid my father is no longer in his right mind.
Right
Real; veritable (used emphatically).
You've made a right mess of the kitchen!
Right
(Australia) All right; not requiring assistance.
Right
(dated) Most favourable or convenient; fortunate.
Right
Designating the side of the body which is positioned to the east if one is facing north. This arrow points to the reader's right: →
After the accident, her right leg was slightly shorter than her left.
Right
(geography) Designating the bank of a river (etc.) on one's right when facing downstream (i.e. facing forward while floating with the current); that is, the south bank of a river that flows eastward. If this arrow: ⥴ shows the direction of the current, the tilde is on the right side of the river.
Right
Designed to be placed or worn outward.
The right side of a piece of cloth
Right
(politics) Pertaining to the political right; conservative.
Right
On the right side.
Right
Towards the right side.
Right
Exactly, precisely.
The arrow landed right in the middle of the target.
Luckily we arrived right at the start of the film.
Right
Immediately, directly.
Can't you see it? It's right beside you!
Tom was standing right in front of the TV, blocking everyone's view.
Right
Very, extremely, quite.
I made a right stupid mistake there, didn't I?
I stubbed my toe a week ago and it still hurts right much.
Right
According to fact or truth; actually; truly; really.
Right
In a correct manner.
Do it right or don't do it at all.
Right
To a great extent or degree.
Sir, I am right glad to meet you …
Members of the Queen's Privy Council are styled The Right Honourable for life.
The Right Reverend Monsignor Guido Sarducci.
Right
Yes, that is correct; I agree.
Right
I agree with whatever you say; I have no opinion.
Right
Signpost word to change the subject in a discussion or discourse.
- After that interview, I don't think we should hire her.
- Right — who wants lunch?
- Right — who wants lunch?
Right
Used to check agreement at the end of an utterance.
You're going, right?
Right
Used to add seriousness or decisiveness before a statement.
Right
That which complies with justice, law or reason.
We're on the side of right in this contest.
Right
A legal, just or moral entitlement.
You have no right to go through my personal diary.
Right
The right side or direction.
The pharmacy is just on the right past the bookshop.
Right
The right hand or fist.
Right
The authority to perform, publish, film, or televise a particular work, event, etc.; a copyright.
Right
(politics) The ensemble of right-wing political parties; political conservatives as a group.
The political right holds too much power.
Right
The outward or most finished surface, as of a coin, piece of cloth, a carpet, etc.
Right
(surfing) A wave breaking from right to left (viewed from the shore).
Right
(transitive) To correct.
Righting all the wrongs of the war immediately will be impossible.
Right
(transitive) To set upright.
The tow-truck righted what was left of the automobile.
Right
(intransitive) To return to normal upright position.
When the wind died down, the ship righted.
Right
(transitive) To do justice to; to relieve from wrong; to restore rights to; to assert or regain the rights of.
To right the oppressed
Right
Straight; direct; not crooked; as, a right line.
Right
Upright; erect from a base; having an upright axis; not oblique; as, right ascension; a right pyramid or cone.
Right
Fit; suitable; proper; correct; becoming; as, the right man in the right place; the right way from London to Oxford.
Right
Conformed to the constitution of man and the will of God, or to justice and equity; not deviating from the true and just; according with truth and duty; just; true.
That which is conformable to the Supreme Rule is absolutely right, and is called right simply without relation to a special end.
Right
Characterized by reality or genuineness; real; actual; not spurious.
In this battle, . . . the Britons never more plainly manifested themselves to be right barbarians.
Right
According with truth; passing a true judgment; conforming to fact or intent; not mistaken or wrong; not erroneous; correct; as, this is the right faith.
You are right, Justice, and you weigh this well.
If there be no prospect beyond the grave, the inference is . . . right, "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die."
Right
Most favorable or convenient; fortunate.
The lady has been disappointed on the right side.
Right
Of or pertaining to that side of the body in man on which the muscular action is usually stronger than on the other side; - opposed to left when used in reference to a part of the body; as, the right side, hand, arm. Also applied to the corresponding side of the lower animals.
Became the sovereign's favorite, his right hand.
Right
Well placed, disposed, or adjusted; orderly; well regulated; correctly done.
Right
Designed to be placed or worn outward; as, the right side of a piece of cloth.
"Right," cries his lordship.
Right
In a right manner.
Right
In a right or straight line; directly; hence; straightway; immediately; next; as, he stood right before me; it went right to the mark; he came right out; he followed right after the guide.
Unto Dian's temple goeth she right.
Let thine eyes look right on.
Right across its track there lay,Down in the water, a long reef of gold.
Right
Exactly; just.
Came he right now to sing a raven's note?
Right
According to the law or will of God; conforming to the standard of truth and justice; righteously; as, to live right; to judge right.
Right
According to any rule of art; correctly.
You with strict discipline instructed right.
Right
According to fact or truth; actually; truly; really; correctly; exactly; as, to tell a story right.
Right as it were a steed of Lumbardye.
His wounds so smarted that he slept right naught.
Right
In a great degree; very; wholly; unqualifiedly; extremely; highly; as, right humble; right noble; right valiant.
For which I should be right sorry.
[I] return those duties back as are right fit.
Right
That which is right or correct.
Seldom your opinions err;Your eyes are always in the right.
Right
A just judgment or action; that which is true or proper; justice; uprightness; integrity.
Long love to her has borne the faithful knight,And well deserved, had fortune done him right.
Right
That to which one has a just claim.
There are no rights whatever, without corresponding duties.
Right
That which one has a legal or social claim to do or to exact; legal power; authority; as, a sheriff has a right to arrest a criminal.
Born free, he sought his right.
Hast thou not right to all created things?
Men have no right to what is not reasonable.
Right
The right side; the side opposite to the left.
Led her to the Souldan's right.
Right
Privilege or immunity granted by authority.
Right
In some legislative bodies of Europe (as in France), those members collectively who are conservatives or monarchists. See Center, 5.
Right
The outward or most finished surface, as of a piece of cloth, a carpet, etc.
He should himself use it by right.
I should have been a woman by right.
Right
To bring or restore to the proper or natural position; to set upright; to make right or straight (that which has been wrong or crooked); to correct.
Right
To do justice to; to relieve from wrong; to restore rights to; to assert or regain the rights of; as, to right the oppressed; to right one's self; also, to vindicate.
So just is God, to right the innocent.
All experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
Right
To recover the proper or natural condition or position; to become upright.
Right
Hence, to regain an upright position, as a ship or boat, after careening.
Right
An abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature;
They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights
Certain rights can never be granted to the government but must be kept in the hands of the people
A right is not something that somebody gives you; it is something that nobody can take away
Right
(frequently plural) the interest possessed by law or custom in some intangible thing;
Mineral rights
Film rights
Right
Location near or direction toward the right side; i.e. the side to the south when a person or object faces east;
He stood on the right
Right
A turn to the right;
Take a right at the corner
Right
Those who support political or social or economic conservatism; those who believe that things are better left unchanged
Right
Anything in accord with principles of justice;
He feels he is in the right
The rightfulness of his claim
Right
The hand that is on the right side of the body;
He writes with his right hand but pitches with his left
Hit him with quick rights to the body
Right
The piece of ground in the outfield on the catcher's right
Right
Make reparations or amends for;
Right a wrongs done to the victims of the Holocaust
Right
Put in or restore to an upright position;
They righted the sailboat that had capsized
Right
Regain an upright or proper position;
The capsized boat righted again
Right
Make right or correct;
Correct the mistakes
Rectify the calculation
Right
Free from error; especially conforming to fact or truth;
The correct answer
The correct version
The right answer
Took the right road
The right decision
Right
Being or located on or directed toward the side of the body to the east when facing north;
My right hand
Right center field
A right-hand turn
The right bank of a river is the bank on your right side when you are facing downstream
Right
Socially right or correct;
It isn't right to leave the party without saying goodbye
Correct behavior
Right
In conformance with justice or law or morality;
Do the right thing and confess
Right
Correct in opinion or judgment;
Time proved him right
Right
Appropriate for a condition or occasion;
Everything in its proper place
The right man for the job
She is not suitable for the position
Right
Of or belonging to the political or intellectual left
Right
In or into a satisfactory condition;
Things are right again now
Put things right
Right
Intended for the right hand;
A right-hand glove
Right
In accord with accepted standards of usage or procedure;
What's the right word for this?
The right way to open oysters
Right
Having the axis perpendicular to the base;
A right angle
Right
Of the side of cloth or clothing intended to face outward;
The right side of the cloth showed the pattern
Be sure your shirt is right side out
Right
Most suitable or right for a particular purpose;
A good time to plant tomatoes
The right time to act
The time is ripe for great sociological changes
Right
Precisely, exactly;
Stand right here!
Right
Immediately;
She called right after dinner
Right
Exactly;
He fell flop on his face
Right
Toward or on the right; also used figuratively;
He looked right and left
The party has moved right
Right
In the right manner;
Please do your job properly!
Can't you carry me decent?
Right
An interjection expressing agreement
Right
Completely;
She felt right at home
He fell right into the trap
Right
(Southern regional intensive) very;
The baby is mighty cute
He's mighty tired
It is powerful humid
That boy is powerful big now
They have a right nice place
Right
In accordance with moral or social standards;
That serves him right
Do right by him
Right
In a correct manner;
He guessed right
Common Curiosities
Are rights changeable?
Rights are generally enduring and inalienable, though their interpretation and implementation can evolve.
How do entitlements differ from rights?
Entitlements are conditional benefits provided by policies or laws, whereas rights are universal and inherent privileges that do not depend on government provision.
Who provides entitlements?
Entitlements are usually provided by governments through various social programs and policies.
How are rights protected?
Rights are protected by constitutions, legal systems, and international treaties.
What is an example of an entitlement?
Medicare is an example of an entitlement program that provides healthcare to seniors.
Can entitlements be revoked?
Yes, entitlements can be changed or revoked depending on government decisions and policy changes.
What role does the government play in rights?
The government's role is primarily to protect rights from infringement and ensure they are respected.
What is an entitlement?
An entitlement is a government or policy-provided benefit that individuals qualify for under certain conditions.
What is a right?
A right is a fundamental, inherent privilege that all individuals possess, which is protected and upheld under legal and ethical norms.
What is an example of a right?
The right to freedom of expression is a critical example that is protected in many democratic societies.
Is freedom of speech a right or an entitlement?
Freedom of speech is a right, universally inherent and protected by legal systems.
Can everyone claim entitlements?
No, entitlements are typically based on eligibility criteria that must be met.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
