As for your actual objective: 

use HTML::Entities qw( decode_entities );

sub my_decode_entities {
   local $HTML::Entities::entity2char{egrave} = chr(232);
   return decode_entities(@_);
}

[download]

Another way: 

use HTML::Entities qw( _decode_entities );

{
   my %entity2char = (
      %HTML::Entities::entity2char,
      egrave => chr(232),
   );

   sub my_decode_entities {
      return map { _decode_entities($_, \%entity2char } @_;
   }
}

[download]

In both cases, you don't break anything (such as HTML generating functions) by modifying the hashes since the scope of the modifications has been limited.

By the way, I wouldn't call it a "default" list. It should be comprehensive. If any HTML entities are not included, you should submit a bug report.

In reply to Re: HTML::Entities - export/modify %char2entity ? (custom entities) by ikegami
in thread HTML::Entities - export/modify %char2entity ? by punch_card_don

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.