Admired victor made grand exits (9)

I believe the answer is:

venerated

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'admired' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

I can't explain the remainder of the clue.

(Another definition for venerated that I've seen is " Revered, hallowed".)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.