plead vs allege

plead and allege both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
plead	No	No	Yes	No
allege	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, allege is a hypernym of plead; that is, allege is a word with a broader meaning than plead:

plead: make an allegation in an action or other legal proceeding, especially answer the previous pleading of the other party by denying facts therein stated or by alleging new facts
allege: report or maintain

Other hypernyms of plead include aver, say.

plead (verb)	allege (verb)
appeal or request earnestly	report or maintain
enter a plea, as in courts of law
offer as an excuse or plea
make an allegation in an action or other legal proceeding, especially answer the previous pleading of the other party by denying facts therein stated or by alleging new facts