Branded waterway's name as being in wrong order (6)
I believe the answer is:
seared
'branded' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'waterway's name as being in wrong order' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'name' could be 'ed' (short for Edward) and 'ed' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'sear' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for seared that I've seen before include "dried up" , "Scorched on the surface (6).[BO]" , "Scorched, singed" , "burned" .)