Praise former spouse, bringing great deal back (5)
I believe the answer is:
extol
'praise' is the definition.
(extolling is a kind of praising)
'former spouse bringing great deal back' is the wordplay.
'former spouse' becomes 'ex' (an ex-spouse).
'bringing' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'great deal' becomes 'lot' (both can mean a large amount).
'back' is a reversal indicator.
'lot' reversed gives 'tol'.
'ex'+'tol'='EXTOL'
(Other definitions for extol that I've seen before include "Praise greatly" , "Say great things about" , "Praise enthusiastically" , "Speak highly" , "Glorify - honour" .)