Is still shorter than “seventeen” (4)
I believe the answer is:
even
'is still' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'shorter than seventeen' is the wordplay.
'EVEN' is hidden in amongst the letters.
However, I'm uncertain how this is indicated.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for even that I've seen before include "Commensurate" , "Smooth, uniform in quality" , "Flat, regular" , "Stable" , "of consistent quality" .)