People in general sloped backward,
allowing to remain
(in the same condition)
a male —
to the exclusion of all others —
lodging in a house —
or building.

Human beings —
as distinguished from animals —
or other beings,
not specific
or definite,
inclined in the reverse (of the usual way),
permitting by neglect,
oversight (or the like)
to stay behind —
unchanged in character, condition.

The specific portion of space
normally occupied (by anything)
a restricting,
limiting (or modifying)
circumstance.

A staminate plant —
a keeping apart —
different in nature or kind.

The greatest possible being:  the remaining ones (of a number).

To be the property of
a temporary place to stay (one fourth of an hour),
a building for any purpose,
anything
built
or constructed.

Sympathetic substances or natures,
(conspicuous, marked),
an inhuman person,
being the remaining ones (of a number).

A living thing :
specified —
precise —
particular —
having fixed limits —
tending in a direction that makes an angle (with anything else)
flat or level,
situated at the vertex,
acting in a manner opposite or contrary (to that which is usual),
as an appliance or apparatus,
habitual
or customary.

Most convenient,
desirable or favorable:
a direction (or vicinity),
tolerating disregard,
watchful care.

(Ilk).

To hold out —
or endure —
in a stage already passed (unchanged in character).

Any spot in a surface
not altered or different in any way.

One such feature or trait —
social position
peculiar to somebody,
serving a system of objects
(with relations between the objects defined according to general custom) —
took possession,
no matter what.

Confining —
serving (to restrain) —
softening minor details,
having stamens
but no pistils.

A scheme
to swindle custody (aside):
various elements of the natural world.

Loving
large in number
that may (or can) be a living thing,
left after the destruction of all else
(noting some indefinite day in the future).

The sum of a collection of units
(to remain as before)
a piece of land,
effective for a time only,
a space set apart
for a particular purpose.

To endure —
next —
after the third
(the time indicated by a timepiece):
the act of constructing
houses.

The subject in hand:
Something —
no matter what —
Of sound or sturdy construction.

An image formed
from a number
of simpler
elements.

 

 

Source:  Kass, John. “Why the rush to subdue old man? Charge alleges cop beanbag rounds just weren’t needed.”  Chicago Tribune. 3 April 2014: 1.

The prompt: Select a single sentence from a newspaper article. Replace each meaningful word in the text [verb, noun, adjective, adverb] by its dictionary definition. Repeat this treatment on the resulting sentence, and so on, until you’ve had enough! Note that after only two such treatments with a relatively compact dictionary, even a two-word sentence can produce an accumulation of 57 words.
http://www.foundpoetryreview.com/blog/oulipost-3-definitional-lit/

My sentence:  “They retreated, leaving him alone in his room.”