Dejected, or in some distress (6)
I believe the answer is:
morose
'dejected' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'or in some distress' is the wordplay.
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'distress' indicates anagramming the letters.
'some' with letters rearranged gives 'mose'.
'or' inserted into 'mose' is 'MOROSE'.
(Other definitions for morose that I've seen before include "Lugubrious" , "Sullen, crabby" , "blue" , "Gloomy and unsociable" , "Glum or sour-tempered" .)