Meaning & use
forged documents
Last updated
Meaning
phraseplural
Official papers that have been illegally copied or changed in order to deceive people.
Grammar: Always plural; use a singular form like 'a forged document' for one item.
Patterns
- forged documents to do something
- use forged documents
- be accused of using forged documents
The police found forged documents in his apartment.
She was arrested for trying to enter the country with forged documents.
The company was fined for submitting forged documents to the tax office.
Common combinations
- forged documents
- He was caught carrying forged documents at the border.
- use forged documents
- They used forged documents to open a bank account.
- fake documents
- The spy traveled with fake documents.
- false documents
- She was charged with possessing false documents.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fake documents
- Similar, but 'fake' can also mean not genuine in a harmless way; 'forged' suggests a deliberate illegal act.
- counterfeit documents
- More formal and often used for money or official papers; 'forged' is more common for signatures and passports.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: forged documents or forged?
forged documents vs forged
As an adjective, 'forged' can also mean shaped by heating and hammering metal, e.g. a forged sword. Context makes the meaning clear.
Practice
The man was arrested because he tried to travel with ______.
Choose one answer.
After 'with', we need a noun phrase, so 'forged documents' is correct. The other options are verb forms that do not fit the preposition 'with'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “forged documents”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.