Comparatively dopey girl accepting arguments with hesitation (8)

I believe the answer is:

drowsier

'comparatively dopey' is the definition.

'girl accepting arguments with hesitation' is the wordplay.
'girl' becomes 'di' (**).
'accepting' indicates putting letters inside.
'arguments' becomes 'rows' (I've seen this before).
'with hesitation' becomes 'er' (I've seen this in other clues).
'di' going around 'rows' is 'drowsi'.
'drowsi'+'er'='DROWSIER'

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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