Refusing to acknowledge drinking, is getting drunk (9)
I believe the answer is:
disowning
'refusing to acknowledge' is the definition.
(to disown is to refuse to acknowledge as one's own)
'drinking is getting drunk' is the wordplay.
'drinking' means one lot of letters goes inside another (inserted letters are consumed or drunk).
'getting drunk' becomes 'downing' (downing alcoholic drinks).
'is' placed within 'downing' is 'DISOWNING'.
(Another definition for disowning that I've seen is " Having nothing more to do with".)
I've seen this clue in The Times.
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