Crossword Genius

Lessen warmth holding back chill (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rawness

'chill' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'lessen warmth holding back' is the wordplay.
'holding' indicates a hidden word.
'back' says the letters should be written backwards.
'ssenwar' is hidden within 'lessen warmth'.
'ssenwar' in reverse letter order is 'RAWNESS'.

(Other definitions for rawness that I've seen before include "Uncooked state" , "Answers (anag)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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