Feel the loss of American wife (6)
I believe the answer is:
missus
'wife' is the definition.
(someone's missus is their wife)
'feel the loss of american' is the wordplay.
'feel the loss of' becomes 'miss' (I've seen this in another clue).
'american' becomes 'US' (United States).
'miss'+'us'='MISSUS'
(Other definitions for missus that I've seen before include "trouble and strife" , "As partner" , "The old lady" , "Dutch American" , "Wife (colloquial)" .)