Conceit, for example, obvious at the start (3)
I believe the answer is:
ego
'conceit' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'example obvious at the start' is the wordplay.
'example' becomes 'eg'.
'at the start' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'obvious' is 'o'.
'eg'+'o'='EGO'
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for ego that I've seen before include "(Self-assertive) personality" , "Aspect of the personality" , "See 21 Down" , "Self-esteem, conceit" , "Morale" .)