A wretched cold (9)

I believe the answer is:

apathetic

'cold' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'a wretched' is the wordplay.
'wretched' becomes 'pathetic' ('pathetic' can be a synonym of 'wretched').
'a'+'pathetic'='APATHETIC'

(Other definitions for apathetic that I've seen before include "Having little interest, indifferent" , "Showing no emotion or interest" , "disinclined to act" , "Impassive" , "Indifferent - without emotion" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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