Wise pets in a compound (7)
I believe the answer is:
sapient
'wise' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'pets in a compound' is the wordplay.
'compound' indicates anagramming the letters.
'pets'+'in'+'a'='petsina'
'petsina' anagrammed gives 'SAPIENT'.
(Other definitions for sapient that I've seen before include "Snipe at, being wise" , "Snipe at (anag.)" , "Discerning" , "Acutely insightful and wise" , "Having intelligence" .)