Crossword Genius

Not loveless, indeed, but depressed (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dented

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'depressed' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'not loveless indeed' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'not' could be 'nt' (synonyms) and 'nt' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'deed' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'but' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dented that I've seen before include "Dinged" , "Tended to be depresed" , "made an impression" , "Made depression in through pressure or impact" , "Bashed in" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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