Crossword Genius

Male circle welcoming a trial (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hearing

'trial' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'male circle welcoming a' is the wordplay.
'male' becomes 'he'.
'circle' becomes 'ring' ('ring' can be a synonym of 'circle').
'welcoming' is an insertion indicator (in sense of 'inviting in').
'he'+'ring'='hering'
'hering' enclosing 'a' is 'HEARING'.

(Other definitions for hearing that I've seen before include "court case" , "Perceiving sounds" , "Earshot; trial" , "Legal process" , "Trial; one of the senses" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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