deus ex machina
/ˌdeɪ.əs ˌɛks ˈmɑkənə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.51 in modern English
28
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
3
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any resolution to a story that does not pay due regard to the story's internal logic and that is so unlikely that it challenges suspension of disbelief, and presumably allows the author, director, or developer to end the story in the way that they desired.
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonym: (vulgar, slang) ass-pull"
- "The women who merge in the final pages leave me unsettled and depressed. Their future is grim. There is no deus ex machina to save them."
- "The repeated tactic of deus ex machina (without a deus) has a deplorable effect on both the plot and the dialogue."
- "Despite the government shutdown, at the end of the last season Knope is able to put on a children's concert in the abandoned lot she's been trying to turn into a park due to a quick deus ex machina."
- "Compared to that, the season-four finale “Server Error” felt comparatively tame, focusing mostly on Richard’s maniacal efforts to create a new kind of internet, which were helped along by a confusing deus ex machina."
- "The belief that a cure for cancer is being withheld by vested interests is a long-standing one. It is often used as a universal deus ex machina for those pushing an alternative alleged cure […]"
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from Latin deus ex māchinā (literally “god from a machine [i.e., a device, scaffolding, contrivance]”), a calque of Ancient Greek ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός (apò mēkhanês theós).
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌdeɪ.əs ˌɛks ˈmɑkənə/
- British English: /ˌdeɪ.əs ɛks ˈmækɪnə/