Contrary to Denny I believe it is wear, unless we are talking about two different things.
If you study the movement of the adjuster in relation to the link when the clutch is disengaged you will see that the link stays in a straight line and the adjuster and fork that it is attached to are pivoting off the pivot ball and swinging in an arc. This creates movement at this connection.
I have 5 loose adjusters and all show different amounts of wear. Here is a link to pictures of the best and worst worn adjusters I have.
LINK TO PICTURES
