Amused mark of approval came first (7)
I believe the answer is:
tickled
'amused' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'mark of approval came first' is the wordplay.
'mark of approval' becomes 'tick' (I've seen this before).
'came first' becomes 'led' (I've seen this in other clues).
'tick'+'led'='TICKLED'
(Other definitions for tickled that I've seen before include "Pleased" , "to be attracted to poacher" , "Made to giggle" , "Amused" , "Delighted" .)