Dear wife no longer brooding (9)
I believe the answer is:
expensive
'dear' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'wife no longer brooding' is the wordplay.
'wife no longer' becomes 'ex' (ex-wife).
'brooding' becomes 'pensive' (synonyms).
'ex'+'pensive'='EXPENSIVE'
(Other definitions for expensive that I've seen before include "not going for a song" , "Costing a lot of money" , "Highly-priced" , "Very costly or dear" , "Pricey" .)