Crossword Genius

Reluctant English supporting States (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

averse

'reluctant' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'english supporting states' is the wordplay.
'english' becomes 'e' (abbreviation).
'supporting' says to put letters next to each other (in a down clue, some letters go below others).
'states' becomes 'avers' (I've seen this before).
'e' put after 'avers' is 'AVERSE'.

(Other definitions for averse that I've seen before include "A piece of poetry is reluctant" , "Having a strong opposition (to)" , "'Opposed, disinclined (6)'" , "Reaves (anag)" , "Disinclined - as ever (anag)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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