Strike when times are bad (5)
I believe the answer is:
smite
'strike' is the definition.
(I know that smite is a type of strike)
'times are bad' is the wordplay.
'are bad' indicates anagramming the letters.
'times' is an anagram of 'SMITE'.
'when' is the link.
(Other definitions for smite that I've seen before include "Funeral pile" , "Beat" , "Strike in archaic way at times" , "Thwack" , "Strike heavily" .)