Crossword Genius

Force a beat to relent (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

abate

'to relent' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'force a beat' is the wordplay.
'force' is an anagram indicator (letters must be forced into a new order).
'a'+'beat'='abeat'
'abeat' with letters rearranged gives 'ABATE'.

(Other definitions for abate that I've seen before include "Become less intense" , "Subside like storm" , "Decline" , "Go down like storm" , "Demolish" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
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.