rift vs cleft

rift and cleft both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
rift	Yes	No	No	No
cleft	Yes	Yes	No	No

As nouns, cleft is a hypernym of rift; that is, cleft is a word with a broader meaning than rift:

Other hypernyms of rift include crack, crevice, fissure, scissure.

rift (noun)	cleft (noun)
a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions)	a long narrow cleft
a narrow fissure in rock	a split or indentation in something (as the palate or chin)
a gap between cloud masses

rift (adjective)	cleft (adjective)
	having one or more indentations reaching nearly to the midrib
	split or divided