Appealing victory by a few (7)
I believe the answer is:
winsome
'appealing' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'victory by a few' is the wordplay.
'victory' becomes 'win' (a win is a victory).
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'a few' becomes 'some' (both can mean a small amount of something).
'win'+'some'='WINSOME'
(Other definitions for winsome that I've seen before include "Charming (in a childlike way?)" , "Agreeable" , "Attractive - I'm so new (anag)" , "Attractive and fresh" , "Attractive and appealing" .)