Crossword Genius

Abases me among churchmen (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

demeans

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'abases' is the definition.
(demeaning is a kind of abasing)

'me among churchmen' is the wordplay.
'among' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters are placed among others).
'churchmen' becomes 'deans' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'me' placed within 'deans' is 'DEMEANS'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for demeans that I've seen before include "Degrades, puts down" , "Humbles" , "damages reputation" , "Degrades, lowers" , "is shaming" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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