Flawless in part supporting former lover (5)
I believe the answer is:
exact
'flawless' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'part supporting former lover' is the wordplay.
'part' becomes 'act' (I have seen 'Part of play ' mean 'act' so perhaps 'part' could also mean 'act'**).
'supporting' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (in a down clue, some letters go below others).
'former lover' becomes 'ex'.
'act' after 'ex' is 'EXACT'.
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for exact that I've seen before include "Faithful" , "Absolutely right" , "Precise and strictly correct" , "on the money" , "19 [WREST]" .)