Crossword Genius

Died before time at great cost (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dearly

'at great cost' is the definition.
('dearly' can be a synonym of 'at great cost')

'died before time' is the wordplay.
'died' becomes 'd'.
'before time' becomes 'early' (I've seen this before).
'd'+'early'='DEARLY'

(Other definitions for dearly that I've seen before include "With affection - at great cost" , "with much suffering" , "Extremely - devotedly - at great cost" , "How I love my wife" , "paying for big mistakes like this!" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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