Painful conflict to the north (3)
I believe the answer is:
raw
'painful' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'conflict to the north' is the wordplay.
'conflict' becomes 'war' (war is a kind of conflict).
'to the north' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (in a down clue, letters go up or 'northward').
'war' written backwards gives 'RAW'.
(Other definitions for raw that I've seen before include "Red and inflamed" , "Inexperienced in war (3)" , "not yet ready to eat" , "Untried (of recruit) - uncooked (of meat)" , "Uncooked or unsophisticated" .)