Former nobleman that is meeting resistance (7)
I believe the answer is:
earlier
'former' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'nobleman that is meeting resistance' is the wordplay.
'nobleman' becomes 'earl' (member of the nobility).
'that is' becomes 'ie' (abbreviation for id est, 'that is' in Latin).
'meeting' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'resistance' becomes 'r' (electronics abbreviation).
'earl'+'ie'+'r'='EARLIER'
(Other definitions for earlier that I've seen before include "in the past" , "Further back in time" , "(Happening) before in time" , "Beforehand" , "Further in advance" .)