Always heartily cheered? (3)
I believe the answer is:
eer
'always' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'heartily cheered?' is the wordplay.
'heartily' indicates a hidden word (letters at the heart of the clue).
'EER' is hidden in the letters of 'cheered'.
(Other definitions for eer that I've seen before include "Before, poetically speaking (1'2)" , "Ever to the poet (3)." , "Always (poetic)" , "Ever poetically" , "Always (poetical)" .)