Absolute flattery eschewed by Bishop (5)
I believe the answer is:
utter
'absolute' is the definition.
('utter' can be similar in meaning to 'absolute')
'flattery eschewed by bishop' is the wordplay.
'flattery' becomes 'butter' (as in buttering someone up).
'eschewed by' is a deletion indicator (eschew can mean to shun or avoid).
'bishop' becomes 'b' (abbreviation used in chess).
'butter' with 'b' taken away is 'UTTER'.
(Other definitions for utter that I've seen before include "Speak; complete" , "Sheer" , "issue" , "Express; complete" , "mouth" .)