Cast given guidance after distress (7)
I believe the answer is:
hurtled
'cast' is the definition.
The answer and definition are not the same part of speech. However, adjectives and past participle verbs can sometimes define each other.
'given guidance after distress' is the wordplay.
'given guidance' becomes 'led' (I've seen this in other clues).
'after' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'distress' becomes 'hurt' ('hurt' can be a synonym of 'distress'**).
'led' after 'hurt' is 'HURTLED'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for hurtled that I've seen before include "Crashed" , "shot" .)