Tearful Australian dismissed by old Communist (5)
I believe the answer is:
moist
'tearful' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'australian dismissed by old communist' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'dismissed' could be 'st' and 'st' is present in the answer.
'old' could be 'o' (abbreviation as in OT - Old Testament) and 'o' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'mi' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for moist that I've seen before include "Affected by tears, perhaps" , "Damp or clammy" , "Slightly wet, damp" , "Damp, humid" , "Dampish" .)