Scared fighter at front in a surprise attack (6)
I believe the answer is:
afraid
'scared' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'fighter at front in a surprise attack' is the wordplay.
'at front' indicates taking the first letters.
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'surprise attack' becomes 'raid' (I've seen this in other clues).
The first letter of 'fighter' is 'f'.
'a'+'raid'='araid'
'f' inserted into 'araid' is 'AFRAID'.
(Other definitions for afraid that I've seen before include "Fearful and timid" , "Filled with fear" , "Scared, apprehensive" , "Fearful, anxious" , "Regretfully" .)