Hunt ruthlessly admits lie (7)

I believe the answer is:

untruth

'lie' is the definition.
(an untruth is a lie)

'hunt ruthlessly admits' is the wordplay.
'admits' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'UNTRUTH' is hidden within 'hunt ruthlessly'.

(Other definitions for untruth that I've seen before include "product of Orwell's ministry?" , "Falsehood or lie" , "A genuinely deniable" , "story" , "Fiction" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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