Crossword Genius

In spite of lacking status (15)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

notwithstanding

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'in spite' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'lacking status' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'lacking' could be 'no' (eg lacking money means with no money) and 'no' is found in the answer.
'status' could be 'standing' (standing is a kind of status) and 'standing' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'of' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for notwithstanding that I've seen before include "Despite" , "Nevertheless" , "Even so" , "... in spite" , "Regardless of" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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.