… loving male, naked in retreat (4)
I believe the answer is:
warm
'loving' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'male naked in retreat' is the wordplay.
'male' becomes 'm' (common abbreviation).
'naked' becomes 'raw' (I've seen this in another clue).
'in retreat' says the letters should be written backwards.
'm'+'raw'='mraw'
'mraw' written backwards gives 'WARM'.
(Other definitions for warm that I've seen before include "Getting close to target" , "not cool?" , "Near to finding hidden object" , "Friendly" , "Intimate - with a comfortable temperature" .)