Cautious individual, we hear? (8)
I believe the answer is:
discreet
'cautious' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'individual we hear?' is the wordplay.
'individual' becomes 'discrete'.
'we hear?' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'discrete' is a homophone of 'DISCREET'.
(Other definitions for discreet that I've seen before include "Tactful and trustworthy" , "Careful in not attracting attention" , "Circumspect, considerate" , "Cautious, doesn't give away secrets" , "Modest" .)