Couple held back by disquiet in university (5)
I believe the answer is:
unite
'couple' is the definition.
(I know that couple is a more specific form of the action unite)
'held back by disquiet in university' is the wordplay.
'back by' says the letters should be written backwards.
'held' indicates a hidden word.
'etinu' is hidden in the letters of 'disquiet in university'.
'etinu' in reverse letter order is 'UNITE'.
(Other definitions for unite that I've seen before include "Join together, merge" , "fuse" , "Become an integrated whole" , "Join together, become one" , "Come together as allies or comrades" .)