Crossword Genius

Earlier monastery, incomplete (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

prior

'earlier' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'monastery incomplete' is the wordplay.
'monastery' becomes 'priory' (I've seen this before).
'incomplete' means to remove the last letter.
'priory' with its final letter taken away is 'PRIOR'.

(Other definitions for prior that I've seen before include "head of a religious community" , "Pre-existing, religious head" , "Previous; abbot's deputy" , "Existing beforehand" , "Certainly not succeeding" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Telegraph.
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.