Crossword Genius

Was a terribly evil figure (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

lived

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'was' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'a terribly evil figure' is the wordplay.
'a terribly' is an anagram indicator.
'figure' becomes 'd' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'evil' anagrammed gives 'live'.
'live'+'d'='LIVED'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for lived that I've seen before include "Escaped destruction" , "Existed or dwelt" .)

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