Fear Republican stopping late (5)
I believe the answer is:
dread
'fear' is the definition.
(dread is a kind of fear)
'republican stopping late' is the wordplay.
'republican' becomes 'R' (abbreviation).
'stopping' is an insertion indicator (stopping can mean blocking a gap).
'late' becomes 'dead' (similar in meaning).
'r' going into 'dead' is 'DREAD'.
(Other definitions for dread that I've seen before include "Great fear or apprehension" , "Apprehensive fear" , "Hairstyle" , "Get cold feet" , "quail" .)