Respectable bridge player needing diamonds (4)
I believe the answer is:
nice
'respectable' is the definition.
('nice' can be similar in meaning to 'respectable')
'bridge player needing diamonds' is the wordplay.
'bridge player' becomes 'n' (**).
'needing' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'diamonds' becomes 'ice' (I've seen this before).
'n'+'ice'='NICE'
(Other definitions for nice that I've seen before include "Enjoyable" , "Fine as in distinction, or pleasant" , "Pleasant - precise" , "Pleasant - exact" , "Fastidious" .)