Removing the letters opposite (8)
I believe the answer is:
effacing
'removing' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'letters opposite' is the wordplay.
'letters' becomes 'ef' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'opposite' becomes 'facing' (I've seen this before).
'ef'+'facing'='EFFACING'
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for effacing that I've seen before include "Obliterating, erasing" , "Removing" , "Making oneself inconspicuous" .)