The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word SIMILAR
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
I
M
I
L
A
R
Buddy explains!
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does SIMILAR mean?
SIMILAR noun- That which is similar to, or resembles, something else, as in quality, form, etc.
- A material that produces an effect that resembles the symptoms of a particular disease.
- Having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable.
- Of geometrical figures including triangles, squares, ellipses, arcs and more complex figures, having the same shape but possibly different size, rotational orientation, and position; in particular, having corresponding angles equal and corresponding line segments proportional; such that one can be had from the other using a sequence of rotations, translations and scalings.