Before embracing, Anne put out feelers (8)
I believe the answer is:
antennae
'feelers' is the definition.
('antenna' can be a synonym of 'feeler')
'before embracing anne put out' is the wordplay.
'before' becomes 'ante' (I've seen this before).
'embracing' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'put out' is an anagram indicator.
'anne' with letters rearranged gives 'enna'.
'ante' placed around 'enna' is 'ANTENNAE'.
(Other definitions for antennae that I've seen before include "Feelers or aerials" , "Sensory appendages on insects" , "They sense" , "Russian wolfhound" , "They feel" .)