Very staid, suffering in hard times (9)
I believe the answer is:
adversity
'hard times' is the definition.
'very staid suffering' is the wordplay.
'suffering' indicates anagramming the letters.
'very'+'staid'='verystaid'
'verystaid' is an anagram of 'ADVERSITY'.
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for adversity that I've seen before include "Misfortune, hardship" , "Circumstances that cause trouble or sorrow" , "Hard times or misfortune" , "State of misfortune or affliction" .)