In the past, resented lunatic eating insects (7)

I believe the answer is:

maliced

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'in the past resented' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'lunatic eating insects' is the wordplay.
'lunatic' becomes 'mad' (I've seen this before).
'eating' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'insects' becomes 'lice' (louse is a kind of insect).
'mad' enclosing 'lice' is 'MALICED'.

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I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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