Sneering scars a distressed maiden (7)
I believe the answer is:
sarcasm
'sneering' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'scars a distressed maiden' is the wordplay.
'distressed' is an anagram indicator.
'maiden' becomes 'm' (cricket abbreviation).
'scars'+'a'='scarsa'
'scarsa' anagrammed gives 'sarcas'.
'sarcas'+'m'='SARCASM'
(Other definitions for sarcasm that I've seen before include "Dry wit" , "Scornful jibe" , "Ironical expression of scorn or contempt" , "Language expressing scorn or contempt" , "Ironic expression of scorn" .)