Governmental, like the law in Delaware (5)
I believe the answer is:
state
'governmental' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'the law in delaware' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'sate' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'like' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for state that I've seen before include "A test (anag.)" , "Pomp; nation" , "See 18" , "Condition - sovereign political power" , "Specify condition" .)