Cryptic crossword clue
Face defeat in struggle to get rid of stimulant 12

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word DECAFFEINATE

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
D
E
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A
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "to get rid of stimulant" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case to get rid of stimulant = decaffeinate.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does DECAFFEINATE mean?

DECAFFEINATE verb
  1. To remove the caffeine from something (especially from coffee).

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