Crossword Genius

Losing temperature, turning arctic more or less (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

circa

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'more or less' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

I can't explain the rest of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for circa that I've seen before include "Close to" , "(Especially of a date) approximately" , "About (a time)" , "Costa del Sol city" , "Preceding a date, this means about" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
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