Crossword Genius

Practical to separate on reflection, consumed by devastating malice (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

empirical

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'practical' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

I can't explain the remainder of the clue.

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(Other definitions for empirical that I've seen before include "established by trial" , "dependent on trial" , "Derived from experience" , "Based on experience or experiment" , "Replica I'm making from observation, not theory" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.
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