Crossword Genius

Relieved by cultivating a seed (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

eased

'relieved' is the definition.
(easing is a kind of relieving)

'cultivating a seed' is the wordplay.
'cultivating' indicates anagramming the letters.
'a'+'seed'='aseed'
'aseed' with letters rearranged gives 'EASED'.

'by' is the link.

(Other definitions for eased that I've seen before include "Made less hard" , "Calmed" , "Allayed" , "Moved carefully" , "Made less difficult or trying" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
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