deus ex machina

[ dey-uhs eks mah-kuh-nuh, dee-uhs eks mak-uh-nuh ]
See synonyms for deus ex machina on Thesaurus.com
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.

Origin of deus ex machina

1
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.

Words Nearby deus ex machina

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use deus ex machina in a sentence

  • It had come so quietly upon the scene—a deus ex machina, indeed, dropped from the clouds between us and our prey.

    The Long Roll | Mary Johnston
  • That deus ex machina from below the stage retired, unconscious of the imminent catastrophe he had averted.

    Audrey Craven | May Sinclair
  • It may seem surprising that the discoverer of the venous return felt the need of a deus ex machina to distend the right auricle.

British Dictionary definitions for deus ex machina

deus ex machina

/ Latin (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

Origin of deus ex machina

1
literally: god out of a machine, translating Greek theos ek mēkhanēs

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012