Distress rife after great heartbreak (5)
I believe the answer is:
grief
'heartbreak' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'distress rife after great' is the wordplay.
'distress' is an anagram indicator.
'after' says to put letters next to each other.
'great' becomes 'G' (abbreviation in place names).
'rife' anagrammed gives 'rief'.
'rief' put after 'g' is 'GRIEF'.
(Other definitions for grief that I've seen before include "Distress" , "Sharp sorrow" , "Deep sadness" , "Misery" , "Deep sorrow" .)