Crossword Genius

Intensely dislike a smell minister had (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

abominate

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'intensely dislike' is the definition.
'abominate' can be an answer for 'dislike' (thesaurus). I'm not sure about the 'intensely' bit.

'a smell minister had' is the wordplay.
'smell' becomes 'B.O.' (informal abbreviation for body odour).
'minister' becomes 'min' (abbreviation).
'had' becomes 'ate' ('have' can mean 'eat').
'a'+'bo'+'min'+'ate'='ABOMINATE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for abominate that I've seen before include "Amoeba nit - easy to loathe" , "Loathe, detest" , "Condemn" , "Loathe, find hateful" , "Hate" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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