Crossword Genius

A petty officer, say, reveals defector (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

apostate

'defector' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'a petty officer say' is the wordplay.
'petty officer' becomes 'po' (naval abbreviation).
'say' becomes 'state' (synonyms).
'a'+'po'+'state'='APOSTATE'

'reveals' is the link.

(Other definitions for apostate that I've seen before include "One going to other side" , "Person who deserts their religion" , "One who renounces a belief" , "heretic" , "Renegade" .)

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