A seaman in cruel torment can be helped (7)
I believe the answer is:
curable
'helped' is the definition.
The answer and definition are not the same part of speech. However, adjectives and past participle verbs sometimes define each other.
'a seaman in cruel torment' is the wordplay.
'a seaman' becomes 'ab'.
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'torment' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen 'tormented' mean this).
'cruel' anagrammed gives 'curle'.
'ab' inserted inside 'curle' is 'CURABLE'.
'can be' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for curable that I've seen before include "suitable for smoking?" , "Able to be made healthy" , "Responsive to treatment" .)