Experiences various evils (5)
I believe the answer is:
lives
'experiences' is the definition.
('live' can be a synonym of 'experience')
'various evils' is the wordplay.
'various' indicates an anagram.
'evils' is an anagram of 'LIVES'.
(Other definitions for lives that I've seen before include "Exists" , "Is animate" , "Resides" , "See 5" , "Biographies" .)