Contrived:

deliberately created rather than arising naturally or spontaneously.

Furtively: secretly
Predicament: difficult/embarrassing situation
Intrigued by something: Fascinated by sth

Vindictive: having or showing a strong or unreasoning desire for revenge.

"the criticism was both vindictive and personalized

trip somebody up
also trip up somebody
to cause someone to make a mistake The lawyer used what he knew about her personality to trip her up i
n court. Idid fine on most of the test, but I tripped up on the last problem.
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of trip someone up (to cause someone to fall)

trip up
v.
1. To stumble or fall: I tripped up walking upstairs and hurt my ankle.
2. To cause someone to stumble or fall: The soccer player tripped up her opponent with a slide tackle. Th
e brokenstair tripped him up.
3. To make a mistake: I would have done better on the test if I hadn't tripped up on the last section.
4. To cause someone to make a mistake: His inability to focus on his work trips him up every time. The un
clearphrasing of the question tripped her up.

Strong enough to withstand any change

implicationsforbilateralrelationswouldbemarginal