She fared badly (5)
I believe the answer is:
freda
'she' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'fared badly' is the wordplay.
'badly' indicates an anagram.
'fared' anagrammed gives 'FREDA'.
(Other definitions for freda that I've seen before include "Girl" , "woman" , "Female name; fared (anag.)" , "Girl's name" .)