Take in study defending male convict (7)
I believe the answer is:
condemn
'convict' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'take in study defending male' is the wordplay.
'take in' becomes 'con' (I've seen this in another clue).
'study' becomes 'den' (den can mean an office or study).
'defending' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters are defended).
'male' becomes 'm' (common abbreviation).
'den' going around 'm' is 'demn'.
'con'+'demn'='CONDEMN'
(Other definitions for condemn that I've seen before include "Declare unfit for use" , "Reprove" , "Sentence eg to imprisonment" , "Denounce" , "Completely disapprove of" .)