student asking question

What does "deal with" mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

What does "deal with" something usually means to take action in order to achieve something or in order to solve a problem. However, when it is used in regards to people, it has the more general meaning of "interacting with" people. So he's saying that he does not enjoy interacting with people. "Deal with" someone, like "deal with" something, usually carries the nuance that the person causes problems or is difficult. Ex: I don't have time to deal with her issues today. Ex: Do I really have to deal with him?

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