Crossword Genius

Indeed! Secretary, a despicable character diverted from sacred purpose (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

desecrated

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

'indeed secretary a despicable character diverted' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'from sacred purpose' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'from' could be 'e' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'e' is located in the answer.
an anagram of 'sacred' is 'dsecra' which is present in the left over letters.
The remaining letters 'ted' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for desecrated that I've seen is " (Of a church) violated".)

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.