Crossword Genius

Extravagant academic exercise (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

profuse

'extravagant' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'academic exercise' is the wordplay.
'academic' becomes 'prof'.
'exercise' becomes 'use' ('use' can be a synonym of 'exercise').
'prof'+'use'='PROFUSE'

(Other definitions for profuse that I've seen before include "Overflowing - excessive" , "Plentiful, abundant" , "Plentiful or extravagant" , "Plentiful, generous" , "Lavish or extravagant, could be gratitude or apology" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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