Crossword Genius

Noble disheartened saint (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

peer

'noble' is the definition.
(peers are members of the nobility)

'disheartened saint' is the wordplay.
'disheartened' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters) (the middle or heart is removed).
'saint' becomes 'peter' (I've seen this before).
'peter' with its middle taken out is 'PEER'.

(Other definitions for peer that I've seen before include "Coequal" , "Look closely at lord" , "Struggle to look" , "Person of equal standing" , "One's equal" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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