Crossword Genius

Lover no longer kissed we hear: imagine! (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

expect

'imagine' is the definition.
(I know that imagine is a more specific form of the action expect)

'lover no longer kissed we hear' is the wordplay.
'lover no longer' becomes 'ex' (ex-lover).
'kissed' becomes 'pecked' (pecking is a kind of kissing).
'we hear' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'pecked' is a homophone of 'pect'.
'ex'+'pect'='EXPECT'

(Other definitions for expect that I've seen before include "Wait for" , "Believe about to happen" , "Imagine" , "Assume or look forward to" , "Regard something as probable" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun and The Telegraph.
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