It may be of merit (5)
I believe the answer is:
order
'merit' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both human attributes as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I can't see?
'it may be of' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'it' could be 'e' ('e' can mean 'electronic' which is similar to 'IT') and 'e' is found in the answer.
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for order that I've seen before include "Right arrangement" , "Command; arrange" , "peace" , "eg OBE" , "Direct - sequence" .)