Approached (6)
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">approached</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">('near' can be a synonym of 'approach')</span><br/ ><br/ >This is all the clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for neared that I've seen before include "Approached, drew close" , "Got closer" , "Drew nigh" , "Drew closer to" , "Approached, came close" .)