Cast emerge in a diverse group (9)
I believe the answer is:
menagerie
'diverse group' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both groups as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?
'cast emerge in a' is the wordplay.
'cast' indicates an anagram (letters are dispersed or cast around).
'emerge'+'in'+'a'='emergeina'
'emergeina' with letters rearranged gives 'MENAGERIE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for menagerie that I've seen before include "Exhibited collection of wild animals" , "Assembly of animals" , "strange collection of people" , "collected animals" , "A lot of wild animals" .)