A bad start and answer is clear (7)
I believe the answer is:
absolve
'is clear' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'a bad start and answer' is the wordplay.
'start' indicates taking the first letters.
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'answer' becomes 'solve' (**).
The initial letter of 'bad' is 'b'.
'a'+'b'+'solve'='ABSOLVE'
(Other definitions for absolve that I've seen before include "Exonerate" , "Grant pardon for" , "Free (a person) from guilt" , "Declare to be free from blame" , "Excuse" .)