Relaxed, taking exercise, Conservative is revered (9)
I believe the answer is:
respected
'is revered' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'relaxed taking exercise conservative' is the wordplay.
'relaxed' becomes 'rested' (I've seen this before).
'taking' is an insertion indicator.
'exercise' becomes 'pe' (Physical Education).
'conservative' becomes 'C' (UK political abbreviation).
'pe'+'c'='pec'
'rested' going around 'pec' is 'RESPECTED'.
(Other definitions for respected that I've seen before include "Had a high regard for someone" , "Held in esteem" , "Looked up to" , "Held in high regard" , "Regarded highly" .)