Crossword Genius

Cruel male lacking guile (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

heartless

'cruel' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)

'male lacking guile' is the wordplay.
'male' becomes 'he' (he refers to a man).
'lacking guile' becomes 'artless' (I've seen this in another clue).
'he'+'artless'='HEARTLESS'

(Other definitions for heartless that I've seen before include "Callous" , "Scrooge was" , "Uncaring" , "Completely lacking in feeling" , "hard?" .)

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