Put off Edward's return with hesitation (5)
I believe the answer is:
deter
'put off' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'edward's return with hesitation' is the wordplay.
'edward' becomes 'ted'.
'return' is a reversal indicator.
'with hesitation' becomes 'er' (I've seen this in other clues).
'ted' back-to-front is 'det'.
'det'+'er'='DETER'
(Other definitions for deter that I've seen before include "Put (someone) off" , "Discourage or prevent from doing something" , "Dishearten" , "'Discourage, dissuade (5)'" , "Hinder, prevent" .)