Crossword Genius

Republican's opponent in solitary, mistreated (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

royalist

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'republican's opponent' is the definition.
'royalist' can be an answer for 'opponent' (I have seen 'opponent of Republicans' mean 'royalist' so perhaps 'opponent' could also mean 'royalist'). I am unsure of the 'republican's' bit.

'solitary mistreated' is the wordplay.
'mistreated' indicates an anagram.
'solitary' with letters rearranged gives 'ROYALIST'.

'in' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for royalist that I've seen before include "Monarchist" , "rightwinger?" , "one in civil war" , "Solitary kind of person who favours monarchy" , "Supporter of monarchy" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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.