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deus ex machina definition

deus ex ma·china (dā′əs eks mä′kē nə, dē′-; -mak′ē-)

  1. in ancient Greek and Roman plays, a deity brought in by stage machinery to intervene in the action
  2. any unconvincing character or event brought artificially into the plot of a story or drama to settle an involved situation

Etymology: L, god from a machine

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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