A nasty death can never be popular (5)
I believe the answer is:
hated
'never be popular' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'a nasty death' is the wordplay.
'a nasty' indicates anagramming the letters.
'death' with letters rearranged gives 'HATED'.
'can' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for hated that I've seen before include "Detested" , "Loathed" , "couldn't stand" , "Despised" , "Death (anag)" .)