Awesome duke studied (5)
I believe the answer is:
dread
'awesome' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'duke studied' is the wordplay.
'duke' becomes 'd' (abbreviation).
'studied' becomes 'read' (I've seen this before).
'd'+'read'='DREAD'
(Other definitions for dread that I've seen before include "Frightful" , "Deep fear" , "Enormous apprehension" , "Fear - dire" , "Get cold feet" .)