Wake partner before call (6)

I believe the answer is:

excite

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'wake' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'partner before call' is the wordplay.
'partner before' becomes 'ex' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'call' becomes 'cite' (citing is a kind of calling).
'ex'+'cite'='EXCITE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for excite that I've seen before include "Thrill" , "Make (someone) eager" , "Arouse, make eager" , "Send" , "Cause strong feelings in" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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