A lovely accent (5)
I believe the answer is:
acute
'accent' is the definition.
(acute accent is a kind of accent)
'a lovely' is the wordplay.
'lovely' becomes 'cute' (both can mean attractive or adorable).
'a'+'cute'='ACUTE'
(Other definitions for acute that I've seen before include "Short and severe" , "Sharp; severe" , "Canny" , "Sharp-pointed - keenly perceptive" , "Sharp - sort of French accent" .)