Acting superior in station, drained by crime, runs away (8)
I believe the answer is:
snobbery
'acting' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't see how they can define each other.
I don't understand the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for snobbery that I've seen before include "Quality of thinking others socially inferior" , "Condescension towards those with lower status" , "Pretentiousness" , "Superciliousness" , "Trait of condescending to those of lower social status" .)