Crossword Genius

Cruel fight given up (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

raw

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'cruel' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?

'fight given up' is the wordplay.
'fight' becomes 'war' (warring is a kind of fighting).
'given up' is a reversal indicator (in a down clue, letters go up).
'war' backwards is 'RAW'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for raw that I've seen before include "Natural" , "Not prepared" , "Uncooked or unsophisticated" , "Unprocessed" , "Uncooked or crude" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app