Crossword Genius

Died last month, relieved of pain (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

deceased

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

'died' is the definition.
('decease' can be a synonym of 'die')

'last month relieved of pain' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'month' could be 'dec' (abbreviation for December) and 'dec' is located in the answer.
'relieved' could be 'eased' (easing is a kind of relieving) and 'eased' is present in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for deceased that I've seen before include "Late" , "No longer living" , "departed" , "Passed away" , "Recently dead" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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.