Point to a vessel as being more modern (5)
I believe the answer is:
newer
'being more modern' is the definition.
('new' can be a synonym of 'modern')
'point to a vessel' is the wordplay.
'point' becomes 'n' (N is an example**).
'to a vessel' becomes 'ewer' (ewer is a kind of vessel).
'n'+'ewer'='NEWER'
'as' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for newer that I've seen before include "Fresher or more novel" , "More recent" , "Fresher, not as old" , "More current" , "More pristine or recently invented" .)