Crossword Genius

English, in cul-de-sac, subdued (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

deadened

'subdued' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'english in cul-de-sac' is the wordplay.
'english' becomes 'e' (abbreviation).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'cul-de-sac' becomes 'deadend' ('dead end' can be a synonym of 'cul-de-sac').
'e' going inside 'deadend' is 'DEADENED'.

(Another definition for deadened that I've seen is " subdued".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.