Answer:
D. She was on a diet so she only ate a fleck of the chocolate cake.
Explanation:
The sentence that uses the underlined vocabulary word incorrectly is:
[tex]\large\boxed{\textsf{D. She was on a diet so she only ate a \underline{fleck} of the chocolate cake.}}[/tex]
In this sentence, "fleck" is used incorrectly to describe a portion of the chocolate cake that was eaten.
The word "fleck" typically refers to a small mark, spot, or speck. It doesn't fit well in the context of consuming food, as it doesn't accurately convey the act of eating a small portion of cake. Instead, a more appropriate word in this context could be "sliver," "bite," or "morsel."
[tex]\dotfill[/tex]
Additional Information
The given sentences with the underlined words are:
A. It froze last night, so the grass has a hoary coat of ice on top of it.
B. The essence of suspense surrounding the old house was unmistakable.
C. The frosty air masked all the autumn trees in a hoary shroud.
D. She was on a diet so she only ate a fleck of the chocolate cake.
The adjective "hoary" is often used to describe something covered in frost or ice. This fits well with the context of the grass having a coat of ice due to freezing temperatures (sentence A), and the imagery of the frosty air masking the trees in a shroud of frost (sentence C).
The word "essence" refers to the fundamental nature or inherent quality of something, which accurately describes the feeling of suspense surrounding the old house (sentence B).
Therefore, options A, B, and C use their respective vocabulary words ("hoary" and "essence") correctly in their contexts, leaving option D as the only one that uses the term "fleck" incorrectly.
