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Definition of Deus ex machina
1. Noun. Any active agent who appears unexpectedly to solve an insoluble difficulty.
Definition of Deus ex machina
1. 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 he or she desired ¹
2. Noun. A contrived solution to a problem, relying on an agent external to the situation. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of Deus Ex Machina
Literary usage of Deus ex machina
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. A Critical and Historical Introduction to the Canonical Scriptures of the by Wilhelm Martin Leberecht De Wette (1843)
"... sufficient preparation for the appearance of God ; and that it would be a Deus
ex machina in that case, while it must be a deus ex machina at any rate. ..."
2. Choisy: A Novel by James P. Story (1872)
"... but steadily and surely, even as she watched it with her hungry eyes. more a
deus ex machina than in his simple soul he had dreamt of being. ..."
3. The Attic Theatre: A Description of the Stage and Theatre of the Athenians by Arthur Elam Haigh (1889)
"_ duced was called the 'deus ex machina,' or 'god from the ... The 'deus ex
machina' was a favourite device with Euripides. It is never used by Aeschylus in ..."
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