Reportedly start understanding (7)
I believe the answer is:
insight
'understanding' is the definition.
(I know that insight is a type of understanding)
'reportedly start' is the wordplay.
'reportedly' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'start' becomes 'incite' (I've seen this before).
'incite' sounds like 'INSIGHT'.
(Other definitions for insight that I've seen before include "Visible" , "Intuitive understanding" , "Ability to understand" , "Enlightenment" , "Furniture from Princes Street for" .)