Orderly officer, that man needs payment! (8)
I believe the answer is:
coherent
'orderly' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'officer that man needs payment' is the wordplay.
'officer' becomes 'co' (Commanding Officer abbreviation).
'that man' becomes 'he'.
'needs' says to put letters next to each other.
'payment' becomes 'rent' (rent is a kind of payment).
'co'+'he'+'rent'='COHERENT'
(Other definitions for coherent that I've seen before include "Not rambling in speech or reasoning" , "Clear and logical, not confused" , "Logical and lucid" , "Sticking together" , "Meaningful" .)