Ted's out to be pious and warm (5)
I believe the answer is:
tepid
'warm' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'ted's out to be pious' is the wordplay.
'out' indicates putting letters inside.
'to be pious' becomes 'pi'.
'ted' placed around 'pi' is 'TEPID'.
'and' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for tepid that I've seen before include "Warmish" , "Luke warm" , "Half-hearted" , "Of liquid, luke-warm" , "Unenthusiastic - cool" .)