deus ex machina

American  

[dey-uhs eks mah-kuh-nuh, dee-uhs eks mak-uh-nuh] / ˈdeɪ əs ɛks ˈmɑ kə nə, ˈdi əs ɛks ˈmæk ə nə /

noun

1. (in ancient Greek and Roman drama) a god introduced into a play to resolve the entanglements of the plot.

2. any artificial or improbable device resolving the difficulties of a plot.

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deus ex machina British  

/ ˈdeɪʊs ɛks ˈmækɪnə /

noun

1. (in ancient Greek and Roman drama) a god introduced into a play to resolve the plot

2. any unlikely or artificial device serving this purpose

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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

With truth under assault and accountability seemingly non-existent, a billion-dollar bullhorn sharing micro-targeted messages on multiple platforms may not be an ideal deus ex machina, but it is the one our info-siloed public square demands.

From Salon • Apr. 6, 2024

In Going Infinite, Lewis portrays Bankman-Fried’s miraculous resurrection via FTX as a kind of deus ex machina.

From Slate • Oct. 5, 2023

“Perhaps the deus ex machina here is AI.”

From Seattle Times • Jun. 29, 2023

You know the markers: the quaintly named characters whose destinies match their monikers, the hammer-to-the-head foreshadowing, the dreaded deus ex machina.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2023

Every Greek drama needs a deus ex machina.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides