Crossword Genius

Cheers for hare sent astray (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

heartens

'cheers' is the definition.
('hearten' can be a synonym of 'cheer')

'hare sent astray' is the wordplay.
'astray' indicates anagramming the letters.
'hare'+'sent'='haresent'
'haresent' with letters rearranged gives 'HEARTENS'.

'for' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for heartens that I've seen before include "Encourages in cardiac way" , "Cheers up, gives courage to" , "Cheers, gives hope to" .)

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