Dear old lover preoccupied (9)

I believe the answer is:

expensive

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

'old lover preoccupied' is the wordplay.
'old lover' becomes 'ex' (an ex-lover).
'preoccupied' becomes 'pensive' (I've seen this before).
'ex'+'pensive'='EXPENSIVE'

(Other definitions for expensive that I've seen before include "Very costly or dear" , "Charging a lot" , "Highly-priced" , "High in price" , "Pricey" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.

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