Crossword Genius

Denigrate battle without it being explosive (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

grenade

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

'explosive' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'denigrate battle without it being' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'it' could be 'e' ('e' can mean 'electronic' which is similar to 'IT') and 'e' is located in the answer.
'being' could be 'rn' (RN is an example) and 'rn' is found within the leftover letters.
The remaining letters 'gade' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for grenade that I've seen before include "One might go off" , "Bomb with a pin" , "hand-held missile" , "Small hand-bomb" , "ultimate weapon" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.