Sensible article in various ways (4)
I believe the answer is:
sane
'sensible' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'article in various ways' is the wordplay.
'article' becomes 'a' (indefinite article).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'various ways' becomes 'sne' (compass directions).
'a' going within 'sne' is 'SANE'.
(Other definitions for sane that I've seen before include "Rational" , "Compos mentis" , "Normal" , "Identical" , "Free from mental disorder" .)