A very soft, large, eastern fruit (5)
I believe the answer is:
apple
'fruit' is the definition.
(apple is a kind of fruit)
'a very soft large eastern' is the wordplay.
'very soft' becomes 'pp'.
'large' becomes 'l'.
'eastern' becomes 'e'.
'a'+'pp'+'l'+'e'='APPLE'
(Other definitions for apple that I've seen before include "US computer company" , "'The ..... never falls far from the tree'" , "Eve's fruit" , "something to eat" , "Firm round fruit" .)