The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word ADOPTEE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
A
D
O
P
T
E
E
More clues leading to the result ADOPTEE
- One that’s fostered trouble with power and support
- Fuss by patient initially needing support in ward
- A note pocketed by wally one's taken into the family
- One taken in by amateurish demo tape, wasting millions
- Child‘s poster work covering course feature
- Issue not raised naturally
- Trouble with private English child under one’s wing
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "ward" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case ward = adoptee.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.