deus ex machina
Americannoun
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(in ancient Greek and Roman drama) a god introduced into a play to resolve the entanglements of the plot.
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any artificial or improbable device resolving the difficulties of a plot.
noun
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(in ancient Greek and Roman drama) a god introduced into a play to resolve the plot
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any unlikely or artificial device serving this purpose
Etymology
Origin of deus ex machina
1690–1700; < New Latin literally, god from a machine (i.e., stage machinery from which a deity's statue was lowered), as translation of Greek apò mēchanês theós (Demosthenes), theòs ek mēchanês (Menander), etc.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For Apple, as for Jobs, the whole episode involved the kind of deus ex machina you could never get away with in fiction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
Elsbeth was created as a deus ex machina.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2025
Although some have deluded themselves into thinking the contrary, there will be no deus ex machina moment to stop this from happening.
From Salon ● Dec. 10, 2024
After the recitation of an ancient Roman novel falls apart, what deus ex machina could save the show?
From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2024
Every Greek drama needs a deus ex machina.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
