Miserable maids, mistreated, left (6)
I believe the answer is:
dismal
'miserable' is the definition.
(both can mean melancholy)
'maids mistreated left' is the wordplay.
'mistreated' indicates anagramming the letters.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'maids' with letters rearranged gives 'disma'.
'disma'+'l'='DISMAL'
(Other definitions for dismal that I've seen before include "Dreary; awful" , "Dreary, cheerless" , "Very disappointing" , "Pessimist -- is my jam mild? (anag)" , "pitifully bad" .)