Deprived female wearing cap (6)
I believe the answer is:
bereft
'deprived' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'female wearing cap' is the wordplay.
'female' becomes 'f' (common abbreviation).
'wearing' indicates putting letters inside.
'cap' becomes 'beret' (beret is a kind of cap).
'f' going within 'beret' is 'BEREFT'.
(Other definitions for bereft that I've seen before include "Deprived of or lacking something" , "Having had something precious taken away" , "Deprived, of reason or loved one" , "Deprived, say of reason" , "Deprived of something precious" .)