Crossword Genius

Withdraws a direction on grants (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

secedes

'withdraws' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'a direction on grants' is the wordplay.
'a direction' becomes 'se' (SE is an example).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'grants' becomes 'cedes' ('cede' can be a synonym of 'grant').
'se'+'cedes'='SECEDES'

(Other definitions for secedes that I've seen before include "Withdraws from an organization" , "Breaks away" , "makes a withdrawal" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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