Wit's heartless riposte wounded (6)
I believe the answer is:
esprit
'wit's' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'heartless riposte wounded' is the wordplay.
'heartless' suggests removing the centre.
'wounded' indicates an anagram.
'riposte' with its middle removed is 'ripste'.
'ripste' with letters rearranged gives 'ESPRIT'.
(Other definitions for esprit that I've seen before include "Stripe (anag)" , "Sprightliness" , "... de corps, team spirit" , "Vivacious wit" , "Liveliness - priest (anag)" .)