Dreaded a freed criminal (6)
I believe the answer is:
feared
'dreaded' is the definition.
('fear' can be a synonym of 'dread')
'a freed criminal' is the wordplay.
'criminal' indicates an anagram.
'a'+'freed'='afreed'
'afreed' with letters rearranged gives 'FEARED'.
(Other definitions for feared that I've seen before include "Was terrified" , "Was afraid of" , "Was in awe of" , "Dreaded" , "Was scared of" .)