Answer:
The word masticate, which means to chew, has most recently been affected by _____:
3) becoming obsolete.
Step-by-step explanation:
It has become obsolete, being replaced by "to chew". In fact, "masticate", which comes from latin (masticare), is an example of those words which either become obsolete or are only used in more formal contexts. That happens when words are more of latin origin and a more germanic one is preferred. The same happens to "preoccupied", which, if not obsolete, is rarely used in everyday language, and words which are close in meaning are used to convey its idea, such as "worried" and "thoughtful".