unexecuted

Unexecuted is an adjective used to describe something that has not been executed or carried out. The core sense is the absence or failure of execution of an action, plan, or instruction. It is often used to distinguish between what is planned or proposed and what has actually been performed or implemented.

In legal and contractual contexts, unexecuted typically refers to documents that have not been signed, delivered, or formally enacted. An unexecuted contract is one that has not been legally binding because the necessary signatures or formalities are missing. An unexecuted will, by contrast, may refer to a will that has been drafted but not properly executed according to the applicable jurisdiction’s requirements, leaving its terms unenforceable until execution occurs.

In finance and trading, an unexecuted order is a buy or sell instruction that has been entered into a system but not yet filled and executed on a market. Such orders remain pending and may be partially or fully canceled or reissued depending on market conditions.

In computing, unexecuted can describe code paths or instructions that were not executed during a run or test. An unexecuted branch may indicate a path that was not taken, often due to conditions in the program’s logic, or it can refer to dead code that will never execute.

Etymology derives from the prefix un- and the verb execute, from Latin exsequi. Related terms include execution, executable, and non-executed in specific contexts.