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Initially, hard to oust female feeling a certain desire (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

athirst

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

'initially hard to oust female feeling' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'a certain desire' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' is found in the answer.
'desire' could be 'thirst' (thirst is a kind of desire) and 'thirst' is found in the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for athirst that I've seen before include "wanting a drink" , "Eager, avid (for)" , "Needing a drink (Old English)" , "Dry" , "having keen desire" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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