Staggered retreat with fanatics turning back (7)
I believe the answer is:
stunned
'staggered' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with contact as well as being past participle verbs.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I can't see?
'retreat with fanatics turning back' is the wordplay.
'retreat' becomes 'den' (both can mean a lair or hideout).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'fanatics' becomes 'nuts' (nut can mean an enthusiast or fanatic).
'turning back' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'den'+'nuts'='dennuts'
'dennuts' in reverse letter order is 'STUNNED'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stunned that I've seen before include "Shocked" , "Taken aback" , "Dazed; astounded" , "Stupefied" , "Knocked unconscious" .)