Word that is used to cover tail of malignant ant (7)
I believe the answer is:
termite
'tail of malignant ant' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both animals as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?
'word that is used' is the wordplay.
'word' becomes 'term' (term is a kind of word).
'that is used' becomes 'ite' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'term'+'ite'='TERMITE'
'to cover' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for termite that I've seen before include "Mound-dweller" , "It lives on wood" , "Wood-eating insect" , "Mound-building insect" , "Six-footer" .)