Cry a little, softly (4)
I believe the answer is:
weep
'cry' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'a little softly' is the wordplay.
'a little' becomes 'wee' (I've seen this before).
'softly' becomes 'p' (short for piano, musical term for softly).
'wee'+'p'='WEEP'
(Other definitions for weep that I've seen before include "Greet" , "Sob - ooze" , "lament" , "pipe" , "Pee-pee" .)