Crossword Genius

Small company run heartlessly in contempt (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

scorn

'contempt' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'small company run heartlessly' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'company' becomes 'co' (abbreviation).
'heartlessly' means to remove the middle letters.
'run' with its centre taken out is 'rn'.
's'+'co'+'rn'='SCORN'

'in' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for scorn that I've seen before include "Open disrespect" , "Utter contempt" , "Contumely" , "Mocking contempt" , "Slight" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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