Hateful sailor on the ground rings bishop (9)
I believe the answer is:
abhorrent
'hateful' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'sailor on the ground rings bishop' is the wordplay.
'sailor' becomes 'ab' (abbreviation for able seaman).
'ground' indicates an anagram ('grind' the letters into a new form).
'rings' is an insertion indicator (some letters are ringed or contained by others).
'bishop' becomes 'rr' (abbreviation for Right Reverend).
'on'+'the'='onthe'
'onthe' with letters rearranged gives 'hoent'.
'hoent' going around 'rr' is 'horrent'.
'ab'+'horrent'='ABHORRENT'
(Other definitions for abhorrent that I've seen before include "noisome" , "Earthborn (anag) - detestable" , "Inspiring disgust and loathing" , "Ugly" , "execrable" .)