In protest, one ducks out of it (6)
I believe the answer is:
stoned
'out of it' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'in protest one ducks' is the wordplay.
'in' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'STONED' is hidden in the letters of 'protest one ducks'.
(Other definitions for stoned that I've seen before include "Slangily drunk or attacked with rocks" , "High on a drug" , "Plastered" , "with jewels" , "Slangily drunk in Ostend" .)