Old tales varied (5)
I believe the answer is:
stale
'old' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'tales varied' is the wordplay.
'varied' indicates an anagram.
'tales' is an anagram of 'STALE'.
(Other definitions for stale that I've seen before include "Not fresh, being least" , "Unfresh" , "no longer bearing interest?" , "Musty or hackneyed" , "Mouldy or hackneyed" .)