Second passionate attempt (4)
I believe the answer is:
shot
'attempt' is the definition.
(shot is a kind of attempt)
'second passionate' is the wordplay.
'second' becomes 's' (common abbreviation).
'passionate' becomes 'hot' ('hot' can be similar in meaning to 'passionate').
's'+'hot'='SHOT'
(Other definitions for shot that I've seen before include "Knackered" , "Injection" , "Fired a gun" , "Small drink; photograph" , "Lead pellet" .)