Receding somewhat, Noah saw Ararat barely sticking out of the water (5)
I believe the answer is:
awash
'barely sticking out of the water' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'receding somewhat noah saw ararat' is the wordplay.
'receding' says the letters should be written backwards.
'somewhat' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'hsawa' is hidden within 'noah saw ararat'.
'hsawa' back-to-front is 'AWASH'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for awash that I've seen before include "Flooded; about to sink" , "Letting the 21 in" , "Overflowing" , "Deluged" , "Swimming" .)