Bitter rating sent abroad (10)
I believe the answer is:
astringent
'bitter' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'rating sent abroad' is the wordplay.
'abroad' is an anagram indicator.
'rating'+'sent'='ratingsent'
'ratingsent' with letters rearranged gives 'ASTRINGENT'.
(Other definitions for astringent that I've seen before include "Harsh" , "Severe - checking the flow of blood" , "Caustic" , "acerbic" , "medical preparation" .)