Article is surprisingly true to life (9)
I believe the answer is:
realistic
'true to life' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'article is surprisingly' is the wordplay.
'surprisingly' indicates an anagram (a surprising ordering of the letters).
'article'+'is'='articleis'
'articleis' with letters rearranged gives 'REALISTIC'.
(Other definitions for realistic that I've seen before include "Level-headed" , "Facing facts, as it is clear" , "Faithful" , "It is clear, being practical and sensible" , "Lifelike" .)