Lays waste to reform, at any rate (9)
I believe the answer is:
leastways
'at any rate' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'lays waste to reform' is the wordplay.
'to reform' indicates anagramming the letters (letters in a new form).
'lays'+'waste'='layswaste'
'layswaste' is an anagram of 'LEASTWAYS'.
(Other definitions for leastways that I've seen before include "anyhow" , "in any event" , "at any rate" , "As a minimum" , "If nothing else" .)