Crossword Genius

Misery envelops empty rooms in less good condition (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

worse

'in less good condition' is the definition.
(not as good)

'misery envelops empty rooms' is the wordplay.
'misery' becomes 'woe' (woe is a kind of misery).
'envelops' means one lot of letters goes inside another (I've seen this in other clues).
'empty' suggests removing the centre.
'rooms' with its middle taken out is 'rs'.
'woe' enclosing 'rs' is 'WORSE'.

(Other definitions for worse that I've seen before include "Bad to a greater degree" , "Of poorer quality" , "less moral?" , "Inferior to another" , "More severe; less well" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.