Crossword Genius

Deal with as an act of generosity (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

treat

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'deal with' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'an act of generosity' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'an' could be 'a' and 'a' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'tret' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'as' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for treat that I've seen before include "Enjoyable surprise gift" , "Try to heal" , "Cure" , "Stand a drink" , "Care for medically" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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