Crossword Genius

Weirdly sad priest almost gives up hope (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

despairs

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'gives up hope' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'weirdly sad priest almost' is the wordplay.
'weirdly' is an anagram indicator.
'almost' means to remove the last letter (most of the word but not all of it).
'sad'+'priest'='sadpriest'
'sadpriest' with its final letter removed is 'sadpries'.
'sadpries' anagrammed gives 'DESPAIRS'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for despairs that I've seen before include "Loses all hope" , "Abandons hope" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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