Lively tango a maiden is dancing (8)
I believe the answer is:
animated
'lively' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'tango a maiden is dancing' is the wordplay.
'tango' becomes 'T' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'is dancing' indicates anagramming the letters.
't'+'a'+'maiden'='tamaiden'
'tamaiden' anagrammed gives 'ANIMATED'.
(Other definitions for animated that I've seen before include "full of spirit" , "Enlivened (like a cartoon film)" , "Diamante (anag)" , "in cartoon form" , "Vivacious in diamante" .)