Philosopher’s squad ignores rejection upon rejection (5)

I believe the answer is:

plato

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'philosopher's' is the definition.
(Plato is an example)

I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.

(Other definitions for plato that I've seen before include "Philosopher of ancient Greece" , "Republican writer?" , "Ancient Greek philosopher" , "Greek character" , "Greek philosopher, disciple of Aristotle" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.

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