Time to embrace ruffian (4)
I believe the answer is:
thug
'ruffian' is the definition.
(both can mean a violent person)
'time to embrace' is the wordplay.
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'to embrace' becomes 'hug' ('hug' can be a synonym of 'embrace').
't'+'hug'='THUG'
(Other definitions for thug that I've seen before include "violent man" , "Violent criminal" , "Violent hoodlum" , "undesirable character" , "16 21 [INDIAN IMPORT]" .)