Crossword Genius

Absolve former partner facing single charge (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

exonerate

'absolve' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'former partner facing single charge' is the wordplay.
'former partner' becomes 'ex'.
'facing' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'single' becomes 'one' (I've seen this before).
'charge' becomes 'rate' (rate is a kind of charge**).
'ex'+'one'+'rate'='EXONERATE'

(Other definitions for exonerate that I've seen before include "Release" , "Excuse" , "free of charge" , "Acquit" , "Justify" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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