Figure to hearten the potentate (3)
I believe the answer is:
ten
'figure' is the definition.
(ten is a number)
'hearten the potentate' is the wordplay.
'TEN' is hidden within the letters.
However, I'm not sure how this is indicated.
'to' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ten that I've seen before include "Roman numeral X" , "Dudley Moore/Bo Derek film" , "Cardinal number" , "Very young" , "X-WORD" .)