Evil arts graduate died (3)
I believe the answer is:
bad
'evil' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'arts graduate died' is the wordplay.
'arts graduate' becomes 'ba' (Bachelor of Arts).
'died' becomes 'd' (abbreviation next to the year of someone's death).
'ba'+'d'='BAD'
(Other definitions for bad that I've seen before include "Harmful" , "Of poor quality" , "Severe; of low standard" , "(Of food) decayed" , "Spoiled or evil" .)