Working laser unlit, out of singular spite (3,6)

I believe the answer is:

ill nature

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'spite' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I can't judge whether this works.

'working laser unlit out of singular' is the wordplay.
'working' is an anagram indicator.
'out of' is a deletion indicator.
'singular' becomes 's' (abbreviation sometimes used in dictionaries).
'laser'+'unlit'='laserunlit'
'laserunlit' with 's' taken out is 'laerunlit'.
'laerunlit' with letters rearranged gives 'ILL-NATURE'.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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.