Crossword Genius

Rebel was shown affection by Ms Pavlova, we hear? (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

anarchist

'rebel' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'shown affection by ms pavlova we hear?' is the wordplay.
'shown affection' becomes 'kissed'.
'by' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'ms pavlova' becomes 'Anna' (Anna Pavlova the Russian ballet dancer).
'we hear?' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'kissed' after 'anna' is 'annakissed'.
'annakissed' is a homophone of 'ANARCHIST'.

'was' is the link.

(Other definitions for anarchist that I've seen before include "One opposing government" , "One who would abolish all government" , "Opponent of government" , "One who wishes to abolish all government" , "Anti-authoritarian" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.