Developing a VISUAL Dictionary --

Stave One

• ironmongery -    a dealer in metal hardware, locks, etc.  
  
• unhallowed -      unholy; not religious
  
• ramparts -          fortification; a mound of earth raised around a place
  
• entreaty -            to ask urgently
  
• trifle -                  something of very little value
  
• morose -            gloomy
  
• impropriety -      an improper act or remark
  
• resolute -            determined; firmly set opinion
  
• homage -           giving respect to; to hold in high regard
  
• facetious -          joking - often inappropriately
  
• brazier -             a metal receptacle for holding coals to heat a room
  
• misanthropic -   a hater of humankind
  
• garret -               an attic
  
• congenial -        sympathetic; agreeable
  
• irresolution -      uncertain how to act or proceed
  
• balustrades -     a row of balusters (upright supports) topped by a rail
  
• waistcoat -         similar to a man's vest
  
• caustic -             corrosive; sharp
  
• waggish -          mischievous; humorous
  
• remorse -          a distress arising from a sense of guilt for past wrongs
  
• benevolence -  charitable; an act of kindness
  
• apparition -       a supernatural appearance; a ghost

Stave Two

• opaque -               blocking the passage of light
  
• preposterous -     contrary to nature or reason; absurd
  
• perplexed -           filled with uncertainty; puzzled
  
• endeavored -        try; attempt
  
• recumbent -          lying down; reclining
  
• fluctuated -           to move up and down or back and forth; to waver
  
• supplication -       to ask humbly; plead
  
• vestige -               a trace or visible sign left by something lost or vanished
  
• condescension -  to assume an air of superiority
  
• celestial -              of or relating to the sky; heavenly 
  
• terrestrial -           of or relating to the earth or its inhabitants
  
• decanter -            an ornamental glass bottle for serving wine
  
• chaise -                a two wheeled horse-drawn carriage with a folding top
  
• avarice -              excessive desire for wealth; greed
  
• supposition -       something that is supposed; a hypothesis
  
• tumultuous -         an uproar (a violent disturbance)
  
• uproarious -         marked by uproar; could be: extremely funny
  
• brigands -            a bandit
  
• boisterous -         noisily turbulent or exuberant (unrestrained enthusiasm)
  
• despoil -               to strip someone of their belongings, possessions, or valuables
  
• irrepressible -      impossible to control
  
• haggard -             having a worn or emaciated (become very thin) appearance 

Stave Three

• apprehensive -       viewing the future with anxiety
  
• spontaneous -        done freely or naturally; taking place without external force or cause
  
• combustion -          an act of burning
  
• consolation -          the soothe or comfort
  
• predicament -        a difficult or trying situation
  
• petrification -          to make stiff from fear
  
• capacious -            able to hold much of something
  
• artifice-                   trick or trickery
  
• scabbard -             a sheath for the blade of a weapon (such as a sword)
  
• compulsion -          an irresistible impulse to perform an act
  
• diffuse -                  wordy; not concentrated
  
• jovial -                     marked by good humor
  
• parapets -              a protecting rampart; a low wall or railing (as at the edge of a bridge)
  
• apoplectic -           showing symptoms of a stroke
  
• opulence -             wealth; abundance
  
• demurely -             modest; reserved
  
• conspicuous -       attracting attention; prominent
  
• filberts -                 a sweet thick-shelled nut
  
• officious -              volunteering one's services where they are neither asked for or needed
  
• livid -                      discolored by bruising; could be: very angry or enraged
  
• heresy -                 the rejection of the established beliefs of a religion
  
• penitence -            filling sorrow for sins or offenses
  
• rebuke -                 a reprimand ( to blame for )
  
• odious -                 deserving hatred or repugnance ( a strong dislike of )
  
• plaintive -              expressive of suffering or woe ( deep suffering from misfortune or grief )
  
• scanty -                  barely sufficient 
  
• desolation -           deserted; abandoned; lonely
  
• contortions -          to twist out of shape
  
• credulity -               inclined to believe
  
• execrable -            detestable; very bad
  
• perversion -           turned away from what is right or good; corrupt

Stave Four

• shroud -             something that covers or screens; to screen from view
  
• pendulous -       hanging loosely
  
• excrescence -   an abnormal outgrowth ( as a wart )
  
• latent -                present but not visible or active
  
• slipshod -          careless
  
• cesspools -       an underground pit or tank for receiving household sewage; a filthy or corrupt situation
  
• offal -                 a waste or byproduct of a process (animal organs)
  
• repress -           to restrain; to exclude from consciousness
  
• successor -       one that succeeds (into the throne, estate, or office)

Stave Five

• illustrious -       outstanding; famous; great; prominent
  
• array -              to dress splendidly; to arrange in order
  
• feign -              to give a false appearance of; pretend
  
• alteration -       to make or become different
  
• malady -          a disease or disorder of the body or mind