How to Use deus ex machina in a Sentence

deus ex machina

noun

• Many hoped vaccines would put a deus ex machina-style end to the virus.
  — Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2021
• But that idea vaporizes in the wake of a deus ex machina cheat.
  — Ann Hornaday, chicagotribune.com, 13 June 2019
• But of course, there was never going to be a deus ex machina so early in the show.
  — Emma Dibdin, Harper's BAZAAR, 18 May 2017
• At the end of Episode 1, in a deus ex machina fit for the pandemic, Mr. Big dies of a heart attack while working out on his Peloton.
  — Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 19 June 2023
• That would have put her closer to the action to swoop in and save the day and gotten rid of at least part of the deus ex machina inception that was Episode Six.
  — Matt Miller, Esquire, 12 Sep. 2017
• Enter the deus ex machina of washing machines, one that does all that, and behind an ultra-sleek façade, to boot.
  — Olivia Martin, Town & Country, 15 Oct. 2018
• But the deus ex machina of an overwhelming public health crisis has changed things.
  — Steven Levy, Wired, 20 Mar. 2020
• Whether democracy can be saved by vigilantes, a deus ex machina mogul and the Rock is a question for the finale.
  — James Poniewozik, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2022
• The 2020 Dodge Charger Hellcat Widebody their new deus ex machina.
  — Scott Oldham, Car and Driver, 22 Jan. 2020
• The deus ex machina has been a narrative device since Ancient Greece.
  — Time, 12 July 2023
• All certainly seems lost...that is, until a deus ex machina in the form of Luke Skywalker arrives right in time.
  — Lauren Puckett-Pope, ELLE, 28 Feb. 2023
• Everything seems like it’s settled, the characters’ fates are sealed, and suddenly a deus ex machina shows up to save the day.
  — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Apr. 2023
• So when Al attacks and smothers her, there’s no magical plot device or deus ex machina to save her.
  — Emma Dibdin, Harper's BAZAAR, 28 Dec. 2020
• Free legal abortions and free birth control will force writers to give up pregnancy as the deus ex machina.
  — Gloria Steinem, Time, 5 Mar. 2020
• In Lowery’s movie, as in the poem, however, magic does not function as a deus ex machina to tie up loose ends but as a way to talk about control.
  — Jordan Michael Smith, The New Republic, 12 Aug. 2021
• The impact of Luke Skywalker appearing for a deus ex machina hit his whole household hard.
  — WIRED, 10 Oct. 2022
• Some two-and-a-half years into this routine, Democrats are still falling into the trap, waiting for a deus ex machina that never arrives.
  — Matt Ford, The New Republic, 23 Sep. 2019
• But the biopic, which changes the race and backstory of Peg Entwistle, an actor who leapt to her death off the Hollywood sign, gets saved from censorship by a deus ex machina.
  — Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 10 May 2020
• While a pat deus ex machina nearly dims the denouement, Belgravia is worthwhile for the performances alone.
  — Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2020
• But then, like a deus ex machina, the Google Lunar X Prize announced a set of interim goals—and rewards—that would give the flagging companies a carrot.
  — Sarah Scoles, WIRED, 14 May 2018
• When Thor is a literal deus ex machina in the battle for Wakanda, he and Captain America use the brief reprieve to poke fun at changes in their hair, faces, and otherwise.
  — Samantha Nelson, The Verge, 9 May 2018
• The result is like the deus ex machina moment in an ancient Greek play, when a hopeless situation is resolved by the sudden appearance of a god on a crane.
  — New York Times, 27 Feb. 2022
• Ultimately a satiric deus ex machina finale saves the day.
  — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2024
• And in the end, when a villain gets the drop on our hero, Tacoma is saved by the sudden appearance of his mentor in an amateurish, deus ex machina conclusion.
  — Bruce Desilva, Dallas News, 30 July 2019
• Some who walk among us might have wished for more of a big reveal, a deus ex machina to propel the plot of humanity forward, whatever the implications of that might be.
  — Editorial Board, Star Tribune, 2 July 2021
• These sections are just so dutiful and familiar, with all their slo-mo fighting and deus ex machina solutions and utter lack of stakes.
  — Richard Lawson, HWD, 25 Oct. 2017
• Potential deus ex machinas include the Oceanside community, where Aaron stayed behind a few episodes back to try to win recruits.
  — Steve Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 26 Mar. 2018
• What if, instead of climate change or nuclear winter, we were delivered that deus ex machina?
  — New York Times, 20 June 2018
• The fate of these bills in the Senate, where 10 Republican votes are needed to defy a filibuster, barring a deus ex machina on that subject, is worrisome.
  — Editorial Board, Star Tribune, 19 Mar. 2021
• The ending depends on a perverse kind of deus ex machina that some readers will consider too melodramatic.
  — Ron Charles, Washington Post, 7 June 2022

Last Updated: 2 Dec 2024