Titled or entitled?

Is a book titled or entitled?

Reader’s question: Which should you say?

The book is titled …
or
The book is entitled …

Answer: Based on dictionary definitions, you can use either. The Macquarie Dictionary gives one definition of entitled as ‘to call by a particular title or name; name’.

Not everyone agrees. Some people think you should use entitled to mean ‘given a title, claim or right to something’ and titled for titles.

For instance, Daily Writing Tips says:

‘If something is “titled” it means that it received such a title, either by the author or by someone else.

‘Entitled, on the other hand, means that a person has rights to something. If you are entitled to a house, for instance, it means that the law protects your right to own that house.’

If in doubt, why not change the word?

The book is called … (This is my preference.)

Or just give the book title:

The book, Gone with the Wind, …

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