Female friend’s rising panic (4)
I believe the answer is:
flap
'panic' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'female friend's rising' is the wordplay.
'female' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'friend' becomes 'pal' (pal is a kind of friend).
'rising' says the letters should be written in reverse (going up in a down clue).
'pal' reversed gives 'lap'.
'f'+'lap'='FLAP'
(Other definitions for flap that I've seen before include "Agitated state; tab" , "Minor panic; tab" , "Use wings; be agitated" , "Wave up and down - panic" , "Flutter" .)