returned documents

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "returned documents" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when referring to documents that have been sent and later received again or "returned", such as if you had sent a letter to a friend and they sent it back to you. Example: "After two weeks, I finally received the returned documents I had sent to my friend."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

11 human-written examples

The user marks some returned documents as relevant or nonrelevant.

Stanford University

GOWDY: Just last month, three years after Benghazi, top aides finally returned documents to the State Department.

Independent

Frequently the number of returned documents from large knowledge repositories is large and makes information seeking practical only "after hours" and not in the clinical setting.

Journal of Biomedical Informatics

While £11m of private money would not be returned, documents released by TfL on Wednesday gave details of other donations which would be sent back because of conditions placed on the gift.

The Guardian

Then, user examines the returned documents and marks the ones that are relevant with the query.

Human-centric Computing and Information Sciences

It needs the additional time only to generate a trapdoor and to decrypt returned documents.

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

49 human-written examples

Xcollect scenarios are configured to formulate queries automatically, send them to a remote web resource, parse the returned document and store the desired data in an XML document.

Bioinformatics

Google and similar search engines normally return documents in the language of the query (an English query for instance returns English documents).

Columbia University

Mr. Biller was ordered to return documents to Toyota that he had taken and to pay $2.5 million in damages for the unauthorized disclosures and $100,000 in punitive damages.

The New York Times

The White House also poured cold water on suggestions by an NSA official that whistleblower Edward Snowden could be offered an amnesty by the US in exchange for returning documents.

The Guardian

Some companies have tried to do that today but they do not work very well, which is why Google still returns documents.

The Guardian - Tech

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "returned documents" when you want to clearly indicate that the documents were previously sent or given and are now back in the original sender's possession.

Common error

Avoid using "returned documents" when the documents are simply found or recovered without a prior sending action. Use "recovered documents" or "found documents" instead.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "returned documents" functions primarily as a noun phrase, where "returned" acts as a past participle adjective modifying the noun "documents". According to Ludwig AI, this usage is grammatically correct.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

Science

30%

News & Media

40%

Academia

20%

Less common in

Formal & Business

10%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "returned documents" is a grammatically sound and frequently used term to describe documents that have been sent out and subsequently received back. Ludwig AI confirms its correctness and usability. As the examples show, the phrase appears across various contexts, including science, news, media, and academia. When using this phrase, ensure that it accurately reflects the context of documents being sent and then received back, rather than simply found or recovered. Alternative phrases like "documents sent back" or "reclaimed documents" can offer nuanced meanings, depending on the specific situation.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

documents sent back

A more descriptive phrase emphasizing the action of sending back.

documents given back

Similar to "documents sent back", but uses "given" instead of "sent".

repatriated documents

Focuses on the act of sending documents back to their country of origin.

documents handed back

Implies a more personal or direct return of the documents.

reclaimed documents

Emphasizes regaining possession of documents.

documents delivered back

Highlights the delivery aspect of the documents' return.

restored documents

Highlights the act of returning documents to their original condition or place.

repossessed documents

Suggests the documents were taken back due to a violation of an agreement.

reverted documents

Indicates the documents have returned to a previous state or owner.

retransmitted documents

Implies the documents were sent again, typically in a digital format.

FAQs

How to use "returned documents" in a sentence?

You can use "returned documents" in a sentence like, "After the review, the bank "returned the documents" to the client."

What can I say instead of "returned documents"?

You can use alternatives like "documents sent back", "reclaimed documents", or "documents given back" depending on the context.

Which is correct, "returned documents" or "return documents"?

"Returned documents" is generally more appropriate when referring to documents that have been sent back. "Return documents" is a verb phrase used as a command, such as "Please "return the documents" immediately."

What's the difference between "returned documents" and "retrieved documents"?

"Returned documents" implies that the documents were previously sent out and then came back. "Retrieved documents" simply means the documents were recovered or found, without necessarily implying they were sent out before.