I found this in an article, and then looked it up on the internet. From what I see, it appears to be playing pranks on people.
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1Give some context please. – Flaudre Apr 5 '15 at 2:13
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iciba： <动> put in order ； adjust ； repair ； mend 3. （使吃苦头） make sb. suffer; punish 5. （动）使吃苦头：～人。 整 used in this sense is very familiar to users watching TV series about crime， 在这个意义上使用这个词，看刑侦电视剧的使用者都很熟悉 – user6065 Apr 5 '15 at 3:55
It actually has 2 meanings.
The first one mean fool somebody or make jokes on somebody. For example, when you want to sit down, and I pull the chair away which makes you sit on the ground directly. This action can called 整人.
Another meaning is more serious. If a person A does not like another person B, A will do a lot of bad things on B in order to embarrassed B. For example, it can happen in a company. If A does not like B, A will treat bad on B and force B leave the team or the company. It is also called 整人.
- '整人'means to make a trick to somebody,but normolly it is a little bit negative. Perhaps '整人'can make somebody unhappy,but others laughing.
- In another meaning, '整人'means to harm someone by means which are under the table.It's totally a bad behavior.
Long story short, I think you got it right.
整人 = playing prank on people.
That is most common way to understand it.
