slit vs cleft

slit and cleft both are nouns.

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

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

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

slit (noun)	cleft (noun)
a long narrow opening	a long narrow cleft
obscene terms for female genitals	a split or indentation in something (as the palate or chin)
a narrow fissure
a depression scratched or carved into a surface

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

slit (verb)	cleft (verb)
cut a slit into
make a clean cut through