Trainee acted in a strange way (5)
I believe the answer is:
cadet
'trainee' is the definition.
(cadet is a kind of trainee)
'acted in a strange way' is the wordplay.
'in a strange way' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen this in other clues).
'acted' is an anagram of 'CADET'.
(Other definitions for cadet that I've seen before include "Military trainee officer" , "Trainee cop" , "Trainee soldier" , "Trainee -- acted (anag)" , "young soldier" .)