To cry like this may seem evil to the Poles (6)
I believe the answer is:
snivel
'to cry' is the definition.
(I know that snivel is a kind of cry)
'this may seem evil to the poles' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
an anagram of 'evil' is 'ivel' which is located in the answer.
'poles' could be 'sn' (North and South poles) and 'sn' is present in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'like' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for snivel that I've seen before include "Complain self-pityingly" , "Complain whiningly" , "Complain tearfully" , "Blubber contemptibly" , "Whimper" .)