cleanse vs lave

cleanse and lave both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
cleanse	No	No	Yes	No
lave	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, lave is a hyponym of cleanse; that is, lave is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than cleanse:

Other hyponyms of cleanse include bathe, wash, wash, lather, soap, douche, floss, decontaminate.

cleanse (verb)	lave (verb)
clean one's body or parts thereof, as by washing	cleanse (one's body) with soap and water
purge of an ideology, bad thoughts, or sins	wash one's face and hands
	wash or flow against