Crossword Genius

Maintains a rising pressure (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

asserts

'maintains' is the definition.
('assert' can be a synonym of 'maintain')

'a rising pressure' is the wordplay.
'rising' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (going up in a down clue).
'pressure' becomes 'stress' (I've seen this before).
'stress' back-to-front is 'sserts'.
'a'+'sserts'='ASSERTS'

(Other definitions for asserts that I've seen before include "States confidently and forcefully" , "States categorically" , "States firmly" , "Declares to be true" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Globe and Mail.
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