Learner in sad state getting tight (7)
I believe the answer is:
miserly
'tight' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'learner in sad state' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'learner' could be 'l' (as in a learner driver with L-plates on their car) and 'l' is present in the answer.
'state' could be 'misery' (misery is a kind of state) and 'misery' is found within the leftover letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'getting' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for miserly that I've seen before include "Stingy" , "Like Scrooge" , "Mean, tight" , "Parsimonious" , "Near" .)