Be obliged to dreadful woe (3)
I believe the answer is:
owe
'be obliged to' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'dreadful woe' is the wordplay.
'dreadful' is an anagram indicator.
'woe' with letters rearranged gives 'OWE'.
(Other definitions for owe that I've seen before include "Bear" , "Be in debt - woe is me" , "Be beholden" , "Have outstanding" , "overdrawn" .)