Tardy ordering tale (4)
I believe the answer is:
late
'tardy' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'ordering tale' is the wordplay.
'ordering' indicates anagramming the letters.
'tale' with letters rearranged gives 'LATE'.
(Other definitions for late that I've seen before include "No longer alive; tardy" , "Dead or behind time" , "Behindhand" , "Having bought it" , "Unpunctual or dead (4)" .)