Crossword Genius

Representative is mature, not heartless (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

agent

'representative' is the definition.
(agent is a kind of representative)

'mature not heartless' is the wordplay.
'mature' becomes 'age' (synonyms).
'heartless' means to remove the middle letters.
'not' with its centre taken out is 'nt'.
'age'+'nt'='AGENT'

'is' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for agent that I've seen before include "Substance that exerts some force or effect" , "Vehicle" , "Factor, spy" , "Double-zero-seven, for example" , "Salesman" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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