Applaud retired singer kicking butt (5)
I believe the answer is:
exalt
'applaud' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with communicating as well as being verbs in their base form.
Perhaps you can see an association between them that I don't see?
'retired singer kicking butt' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'retired' could be 'ex' (prefix meaning former or onetime) and 'ex' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'alt' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for exalt that I've seen before include "Elevate" , "put on a pedestal" , "Praise, glorify or honor" , "Praise highly" , "Raise in praise" .)