Crossword Genius

Ideology is mesmerising at first (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ism

'ideology' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'is mesmerising at first' is the wordplay.
'at first' says to take the initial letters.
The initial letter of 'mesmerising' is 'm'.
'is'+'m'='ISM'

(Other definitions for ism that I've seen before include "form of belief?" , "Informally, any doctrine or practice" , "Ideological movement" , "Distinctive theory" , "specific doctrine" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.