Crossword Genius

Gloomy about one’s son’s expulsion (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dismissal

'expulsion' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'gloomy about one's son's' is the wordplay.
'gloomy' becomes 'dismal' (synonyms).
'about' indicates putting letters inside.
'one's' becomes 'is' (Roman numeral).
'is'+'s'='iss'
'dismal' enclosing 'iss' is 'DISMISSAL'.

(Other definitions for dismissal that I've seen before include "Notice" , "removal from office" , "brush-off" , "Process of being sent away" , "ending" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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