The former are inclined to hold out (6)
I believe the answer is:
extend
'hold out' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'the former are inclined' is the wordplay.
'the former' becomes 'ex' (prefix meaning former or onetime).
'are inclined' becomes 'tend' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'ex'+'tend'='EXTEND'
'to' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for extend that I've seen before include "Hold out or stretch out" , "Spin out" , "Spread - offer" , "make offer?" , "Reach out or stretch" .)