Sad or corrupt ways (5)
I believe the answer is:
roads
'ways' is the definition.
(I know this)
'sad or corrupt' is the wordplay.
'corrupt' indicates anagramming the letters.
'sad'+'or'='sador'
'sador' with letters rearranged gives 'ROADS'.
(Other definitions for roads that I've seen before include "Thoroughfares" , "Open ways" , "Routes for vehicles" , "an answer to all clues, initially" , "Tracks" .)