Crossword Genius

Former spouse in the morning is a trial (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

exam

'trial' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'former spouse in the morning' is the wordplay.
'former spouse' becomes 'ex' (an ex-spouse).
'in the morning' becomes 'am' (AM on a clock).
'ex'+'am'='EXAM'

'is a' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for exam that I've seen before include "End-of-course assessment" , "One might be taken for English" , "One taken by candidate" , "Test (abbrev.)" , "Important test" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
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