I can't think of the word and it's driving me nuts. I'm looking for a word that can be used when some technology is discovered, way of thinking, or even event happening that causes a big change in society.
Examples might be: discovery of electricity, industrial revolution, nuclear power / bomb, the internet.
Some similar terms I can think of are: dawn of a new era, a new age, or paradigm shift.
EDIT: I just want to add that I'm thinking of a lesser used word, although revolutionary fits it's not specific enough nor the word that I'm looking for.
Best Answer
Besides revolutionary (“something that portends of great change”), which it seems de rigueur to mention, consider terms like:
• scientific/social/cultural upheaval (“a sudden violent upset, disruption or convulsion”),
• groundbreaking (“Innovative; new, different; doing something that has never been done before”),
• radical (“Thoroughgoing”),
• breakthrough (“Any major progress; such as a great innovation or discovery that overcomes a significant obstacle”),
• the hyperbolic world-shaking (“Momentous; of great import; of great significance, importance or consequence”) or world-shattering,
• and the clichéd quantum leap (“discontinuous change of state” or “(metaphorical) An abrupt change”).