Provoked near riot at the front (8)
I believe the answer is:
anterior
'at the front' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'provoked near riot' is the wordplay.
'provoked' indicates anagramming the letters.
'near'+'riot'='nearriot'
'nearriot' anagrammed gives 'ANTERIOR'.
(Other definitions for anterior that I've seen before include "Nearer the front or the head" , "Nearer the front; prior (to)" , "Previous, to the fore" , "Coming before in position or time" , "Towards the front" .)