Character illuminated in landing-place (7)
I believe the answer is:
quality
'character' is the definition.
('quality' can be a synonym of 'character')
'illuminated in landing-place' is the wordplay.
'illuminated' becomes 'lit' ('lit' can be a synonym of 'illuminated').
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'landing-place' becomes 'quay' (I've seen this before).
'lit' put within 'quay' is 'QUALITY'.
(Other definitions for quality that I've seen before include "Standard or grade" , "General excellence" , "Timbre" , "Excellent" , "Attribute" .)