Spirited former lover, very industrious creature (9)
I believe the answer is:
exuberant
'spirited' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'former lover very industrious creature' is the wordplay.
'former' becomes 'ex' (prefix meaning former or onetime).
'lover very' becomes 'uber' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'industrious creature' becomes 'an't' (I've seen this in another clue).
'ex'+'uber'+'ant'='EXUBERANT'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for exuberant that I've seen before include "Lively, cheerful" , "Full of energy, high spirits" , "full of glee" , "Abounding in vitality" , "Enthusiastic" .)