Character left out of neutral ground (6)
I believe the answer is:
nature
'character' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'left out of neutral ground' is the wordplay.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'out of' is a deletion indicator ('out of' can mean no longer having).
'ground' indicates anagramming the letters ('grind' the letters into a new form).
'neutral' with 'l' taken out is 'neutra'.
'neutra' with letters rearranged gives 'NATURE'.
(Other definitions for nature that I've seen before include "Disposition; temper" , "Essence; kind" , "Character - wildlife" , "(Person's) character" , "All non-artificial phenomena" .)