Appears strange embracing nude, oddly smooth (9)
I believe the answer is:
sandpaper
'smooth' is the definition.
(sandpapering is a kind of smoothing)
'appears strange embracing nude oddly' is the wordplay.
'strange' indicates an anagram.
'embracing' indicates putting letters inside.
'oddly' means one should take alternating letters.
The alternate letters of 'nude' are 'nd'.
'appears' with letters rearranged gives 'sapaper'.
'sapaper' placed around 'nd' is 'SANDPAPER'.
(Other definitions for sandpaper that I've seen before include "Means of smoothing wood" , "Abrasive sheet (DIY)" , "Woodworker's abrasive" , "Abrasive material" , "Make smoother" .)