detergent vs surfactant

detergent and surfactant both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
detergent	Yes	Yes	No	No
surfactant	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, surfactant is a hypernym of detergent; that is, surfactant is a word with a broader meaning than detergent:

detergent: a surface-active chemical widely used in industry and laundering
surfactant: a chemical agent capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved

Other hypernyms of detergent include surface-active agent, wetter, wetting agent.

detergent (noun)	surfactant (noun)
a cleansing agent that differs from soap but can also emulsify oils and hold dirt in suspension	a chemical agent capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved
a surface-active chemical widely used in industry and laundering

detergent (adjective)	surfactant (adjective)
having cleansing power