Crossword Genius

Respect Democrat in a mess (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

admire

'respect' is the definition.
(I know that admire is a more specific form of the action respect)

'democrat in a mess' is the wordplay.
'democrat' becomes 'd'.
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'mess' becomes 'mire' (mire can mean a messy or complex situation).
'a'+'mire'='amire'
'd' going into 'amire' is 'ADMIRE'.

(Other definitions for admire that I've seen before include "Idolise" , "Esteem, look up to" , "Regard approvingly" , "Have high regard for, think well of" , "Esteem, have high regard for" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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.