opposite
ˈɑːpəzɪt
The place that faces you with something in between
The picture With a road or a table in between, two sides face each other head-on. OPPOSITE faces you across a gap, NEXT TO sits right beside you in a line.
Where the picture shows up in opposite
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facing across the road
The pharmacy is opposite the station.
ðə ˈfɑːrməsi ɪz ˈɑːpəzɪt ðə ˈsteɪʃən
The pharmacy is across from the station.
with one road between them, the station exit and the pharmacy door face each other
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facing across a table
He sat opposite me at dinner.
hiː sæt ˈɑːpəzɪt miː æt ˈdɪnər
At dinner he sat facing me.
with one dinner table between them, two faces look straight at each other
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the far side of a room
My desk faces the opposite wall.
maɪ desk ˈfeɪsɪz ðə ˈɑːpəzɪt wɔːl
My desk looks at the far wall.
a desk on one side of the room stares head-on at the bare wall across from it
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the other direction
Turn the handle in the opposite direction.
tɜːrn ðə ˈhændəl ɪn ðə ˈɑːpəzɪt dəˈrekʃən
Turn the handle the other way.
the wrist stops turning one way and mirrors itself, turning back the other way
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the exact reverse
She did the exact opposite of what I asked.
ʃiː dɪd ði ɪɡˈzækt ˈɑːpəzɪt ʌv wʌt aɪ æskt
She did the exact reverse of my request.
an arrow pointing right was asked for, and the result sits there pointing left
All of it in one picture
opposite is two sides facing each other with something in between. Put a road between them and it is across the street; put a table between them and it is the seat facing you; put a room between them and it is the far wall. Flip the turning direction and it is the other way round, and flip the request itself and you get the exact reverse of what was asked.