State in America — Vermont? (4)
I believe the answer is:
aver
'state' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'in america vermont?' is the wordplay.
'in' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'AVER' is hidden within 'america vermont'.
(Other definitions for aver that I've seen before include "being assertive" , "State (to be the case)" , "Declare positively" , "State firmly, perhaps rave" , "possessions once" .)