Crossword Genius

Like individual without one smear (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aspersion

'smear' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'like individual without one' is the wordplay.
'like' becomes 'as'.
'individual' becomes 'person' (synonyms).
'without' is an insertion indicator ('without' can be similar in meaning to 'outside').
'one' becomes 'I' (Roman numeral).
'person' going around 'i' is 'persion'.
'as'+'persion'='ASPERSION'

(Other definitions for aspersion that I've seen before include "Cast this slur" , "No praises given to the act of defaming 99)" , "Malicious remark" , "No praises (anag) - disparaging remark" , "reflection" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.
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.