Vilified female, a maiden caught in the act (7)
I believe the answer is:
defamed
'vilified' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'female a maiden caught in the act' is the wordplay.
'female' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'maiden' becomes 'm' (cricket abbreviation).
'caught in' is an insertion indicator.
'the act' becomes 'deed' (deed is a kind of act).
'f'+'a'+'m'='fam'
'fam' put into 'deed' is 'DEFAMED'.
(Other definitions for defamed that I've seen before include "libelled" , "Maligned (someone)" .)