The phrase 'was only exacerbated' is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when describing a situation in which a problem or difficulty had become worse. For example: "The problems facing our city were already many, but the recent flood only exacerbated them."
This feeling was only exacerbated when we were allowed to hold Layla for limited periods of time.
In Wood's case, the risk of injury was only exacerbated by the way in which he learned to throw.
ANY awkwardness he felt was only exacerbated by working naked with Ms. Bening, who is the wife of Mr. Shandling's close friend Mr. Beatty.
The trauma they experienced, she added, was only exacerbated by the trauma felt within the firehouses themselves, which traditionally function as actual houses, with families of people who eat together, watch TV together and happen to risk their lives together.
Going out to dinner with friends — for, say, two hours of convivial overfamiliarity and banal, rehashed conversation — seemed like idiocy, and the emptiness was only exacerbated when my friends jumped for the check.
Yet if Moyes's already mounting in-tray of worries was only exacerbated by Patrick van Aanholt's mysterious withdrawal from the first‑team minutes before kick-off, at least he does not need to fret about his goalkeeper.
This is only exacerbated by the special treatment they receive.
High fertility among these groups appears to have created an economic problem that is only exacerbated by state subsidies.
The sharpness of the decline is only exacerbated when you compare it with the improvements Van Commenee has helped bring about in other events.
"Comprehending deep voices can be a struggle at the best of times, so in a situation like networking the problem is only exacerbated.
The uproar that surrounds the newspaper reports that the winning architect is Muslim is only exacerbated when the design becomes public.
