From island in Pacific ring America like a scaredy-cat (8)
I believe the answer is:
timorous
'from' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'island in pacific ring america like a scaredy-cat' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'island' could be 'timor' (I've seen this before) and 'timor' is found within the answer.
'ring' could be 'o' (letter resembling a ring) and 'o' is found in the answer.
'america' could be 'us' (United States) and 'us' is present in the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for timorous that I've seen before include "Shrinking by nature" , "Faint-hearted" , "Very timid, frightened" , "Not bold, nervously hesitant" , "showing fear" .)