Lead Charlie into deeper trouble (7)
I believe the answer is:
precede
'lead' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'charlie into deeper trouble' is the wordplay.
'charlie' becomes 'C' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'into' is an insertion indicator.
'trouble' indicates anagramming the letters.
'deeper' anagrammed gives 'preede'.
'c' inserted into 'preede' is 'PRECEDE'.
(Other definitions for precede that I've seen before include "Go in front" , "Pave the way" , "Come before (something)" , "Occur before" , "Go before in time or order" .)