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Definition of deus ex machina noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

deus ex machina

noun
 
/ˌdeɪʊs eks ˈmækɪnə/
 
/ˌdeɪʊs eks ˈmækɪnə/
[singular] (literary)
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  1. an unexpected power or event that saves a situation that seems without hope, especially in a play or novel
    Word Originlate 17th cent.: modern Latin, translation of Greek theos ek mēkhanēs, ‘god from the machinery’. In Greek theatre, actors representing gods were suspended above the stage, the denouement of the play being brought about by their intervention.
See deus ex machina in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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