Criminal scared to admit this person was a squealer (8)
I believe the answer is:
screamed
'was a squealer' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'criminal scared to admit this person' is the wordplay.
'criminal' is an anagram indicator.
'to admit' is an insertion indicator.
'this person' becomes 'me' (I've seen this in other clues).
'scared' is an anagram of 'scread'.
'scread' going around 'me' is 'SCREAMED'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for screamed that I've seen before include "Uttered a sudden high-pitched cry" , "Utter a loud, high-pitched cry" , "Uttered loud cries" , "Shrieked" , "9 [HOLLERED]" .)