deus ex machina

noun

de·​us ex ma·​chi·​na ˈdā-əs-ˌeks-ˈmä-ki-nə  -ˈma- 

-ˌnä;

-mə-ˈshē-nə

1

: a god introduced by means of a crane (see crane entry 1 sense 3a) in ancient Greek and Roman drama to decide the final outcome

2

: a person or thing (as in fiction or drama) that appears or is introduced suddenly and unexpectedly and provides a contrived solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty

… the shipwreck, far from being a tragic peripety, is the deus ex machina which makes it possible for Defoe to present solitary labour … as a solution to the perplexities of economic and social reality.

—Ian Watt

Did you know?

The New Latin term deus ex machina is a translation of a Greek phrase and means literally "a god from a machine." "Machine," in this case, refers to the crane that held a god over the stage in ancient Greek and Roman drama. The practice of introducing a god at the end of a play to unravel and resolve the plot dates from at least the 5th century B.C.; Euripides (circa 484-406 B.C.) was one playwright who made frequent use of the device. Since the late 1600s, "deus ex machina" has been applied in English to unlikely saviors and improbable events that bring order out of chaos in sudden and surprising ways.

Examples of deus ex machina in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Only deus ex machina in the form of Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, big-money donors, and a few others forced the unprecedented: a candidate with sufficient delegates to be nominated the presidential candidate of a major party withdrawing from the race. —Ezekiel J. Emanuel, The Atlantic, 6 Sep. 2024

There isn’t any deus ex machina lurking that would force Biden out, short of a serious health issue. —Jim Geraghty, Washington Post, 10 July 2024

The finale is especially divisive for resorting to a deus ex machina ending involving a divine force that had only been hinted at throughout the show. —Ben Rosenstock, TIME, 2 July 2024

There are unresolved tensions in Williams’s script that could use some pressure, like the way Cephus’s seeming nostalgia exists alongside his acknowledgment of segregation, or how economic realities underlay his journey north (and only a deus ex machina allows his return to the South). —Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 5 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, a god from a machine, translation of Greek theos ek mēchanēs

First Known Use

1697, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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