Dejected soul to take a smaller amount (10)

I believe the answer is:

spiritless

'dejected' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'soul to take a smaller amount' is the wordplay.
'soul' becomes 'spirit' ().
'to take' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'a smaller amount' becomes 'less' (I've seen this in another clue).
'spirit'+'less'='SPIRITLESS'

(Another definition for spiritless that I've seen is " Lacking ardour".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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