Firm with graduate in stupor (4)
I believe the answer is:
coma
'stupor' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'firm with graduate' is the wordplay.
'firm' becomes 'co' (a firm is a company).
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'graduate' becomes 'ma' (abbreviation for Master of Arts**).
'co'+'ma'='COMA'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for coma that I've seen before include "Long period of unconsciousness" , "State of unconsciousness caused by illness" , "State of insensibility" , "Deep sleep" , "Unconsciousness from which person cannot be aroused" .)