Conservationists united amid pretty scornful insults (9)

I believe the answer is:

contumely

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'conservationists united amid pretty scornful insults' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'conservationists united amid pretty' is the wordplay.
'conservationists' becomes 'NT' (abbreviation for National Trust).
'united' becomes 'U' (as in Man U, Manchester United).
'amid' is an insertion indicator.
'pretty' becomes 'comely' (comely can mean pretty or attractive).
'nt'+'u'='ntu'
'ntu' going within 'comely' is 'CONTUMELY'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for contumely that I've seen is " abusive comments".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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