Word.ws English Dictionary

iceberg theory

iceberg theory noun: a minimalist literary approach used by Ernest Hemingway, according to which the writer should omit as much as possible, leaving the reader to infer it.

Noun

iceberg theory (uncountable)

  1. A minimalist literary approach used by Ernest Hemingway, according to which the writer should omit as much as possible, leaving the reader to infer it.

Origin of iceberg theory

An allusion to the greater part of an iceberg being hidden below the water.

Questions about iceberg theory

What does iceberg theory mean?
Iceberg theory means a minimalist literary approach used by Ernest Hemingway, according to which the writer should omit as much as possible, leaving the reader to infer it.
What part of speech is iceberg theory?
Iceberg theory is a noun.

Words near iceberg theory in the dictionary

  1. iceberg basements
  2. iceberg chart
  3. iceberg charts
  4. iceberg lettuce
  5. iceberg lettuces
  6. iceberg theory
  7. iceberg video
  8. iceberg videos
  9. iceberglike
  10. icebergs
  11. icebergy

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: iceberg theory (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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