The verbs climb and ascend both imply moving upward. Climb is more likely to be used of a person using their feet to move up (climb stairs), or their hands and feet (climb up a ladder). This verb suggests effort, even when used figuratively to talk about gaining prominence or fortune (to climb to the highest office in the land). The verb ascend usually suggests a gradual or stately movement, with or without effort. This lofty verb really stands apart in discussion of rising to a higher point, rank, or degree, or proceeding from an inferior to a superior degree or level, as in the case of a person who ascends to power.

If you look up the adjectives impulsive and impetuous in a dictionary, you might feel like you’re in a hall of mirrors: impulsive is defined as “impetuous” and vice versa. While the two terms are very close in meaning, there are undertones that set them apart. Both refer to persons who are hasty or rash, or actions that are not preceded by thought, but impulsive emphasizes spontaneity or unpredictability and a lack of reflection; impetuous suggests passion or eagerness as the driving force behind abrupt actions or turbulent behavior.

Trick is a very broad term that can refer to everything from an underhanded act designed to cheat someone (a politician’s dirty tricks) to an optical illusion or a prank. Ruse has a narrower application, and is usually used in reference to a false impression or show put forth to hide true intentions or divert attention from shrewd maneuvers. The theme of misdirection or throwing someone off track in order to get away with something reflects the earliest sense of the word: ruse entered English as a hunting term referring to a turn or route taken by an animal in order to dodge its would-be captors.