Composed taut dirge in recognition (9)
I believe the answer is:
gratitude
'recognition' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't understand how one could define the other.
'composed taut dirge' is the wordplay.
'composed' indicates an anagram.
'taut'+'dirge'='tautdirge'
'tautdirge' with letters rearranged gives 'GRATITUDE'.
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for gratitude that I've seen before include "Appreciation of kindness" , "Thanks" , "Feeling of appreciation" , "A sense of indebtedness and thankfulness" , "Thankfulness and appreciation" .)